No Women, No Visitors On The Mock Mars Mission

Today four Russians, a German and a Frenchman walked into a pod in Moscow and not walk out again for 105 days in an attempt to see the psychological and physical effects of a flight to Mars may play out.

This project is one of the first steps in the plan to put humans on Mars by 2030. The team is made up of participants are French airline pilot Cyrille Fournier, German engineer Oliver Knickel, professional cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Ryazansky, doctor Alexei Baranov and sports physio Alexei Shpakov. All six speak English and Russian.

AP reports:

“I’m very happy to have such a crew,” said team captain Sergei Ryazansky, who has undergone training for a real space mission. “There mustn’t be psychological problems in this crew. We even may create a musical band.”

The pod is cramped with few comforts of home and no windows looking out at the world. The pod has three modules, one for food storage, one medical module and the unit where the participants will be living for the next 120 days.

Each member has his own small private room that consists of a desk, chair and small bed. While the team sleeps they will be wearing a 128-electrode cap that records brain activity.

The team also has a small gym. Team members have been allowed to bring DVDs, laptops and books to pass the time during their non-working periods. It is hoped that the few home comforts will help tensions that could appear on the pod.

A woman had been considered for this mission. Russian biologist Marina Tugusheva, 25, was deemed suitable for the project. In the end though it was decided to not jeopardise the experiment this time around with tension between the sexes.

She is believed to be a front runner though on the longer mission planned for later this year.

The Mail On Sunday reports:

Anyone who’s ready to participate in space exploration should treat it as serious work,’ Tugusheva said.

‘Quite consciously we must treat others as not men and women but as colleagues.’

A previous attempt in Moscow failed after alcohol was allowed to be consumed on the eve of the millennium. During that experiment two members began to fight for the affections of a female Canadian scientist. She had to lock herself into her room when one of the members made advancements on her. A knife fight ensued causing a Japanese volunteer to faint.

The mission will not stop this time around unless it is life or death.

Moscow News reports:

“The evacuation of individual members of the crew due to illness or personal wish is comparable to the ‘death’ of the cosmonaut,” a mission statement ran.

“The crew will themselves resolve all problems and uncomfortable situations which do not require the evacuation of crew members,” an Institute source said.

The team seemed excited as they entered into the pod today.

AFP reports:

“How do I feel? I am very motivated. There is a kind of relief. We have been working for a long time and finally we are getting to the start point,” Frenchman Cyrille Fournier told reporters just hours ahead of the experiment.

“The challenge is to live with the same people for a long period but it is a positive challenge. I think we are going to learn a lot about each other,” added his German fellow volunteer Oliver Knickel.

“The aim is to test the physiological and psychological effects of isolation,” he added.

The crew will be monitored constantly but with an artificial 20-minute delay that simulates the reality of deep-space travel. The team will be accessed by Czech scientists from Tomas Bata University in Zlin, south Moravia according to Jaroslav Sykora, International Academy of Astronautics member for the psychological impact of full isolation on the six volunteers’ stress, hormones, sleep and mood.

Team members will be allowed to talk to both their families and the control center. Those talks though will have a 20 minute delay.

Mars500 is a partnership between European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow. Researchers from around the world are part of this research including member countries of the ESA, Russia, Canada and the United States.

There were 5,600 applicants willing to give up 105 days of their lives to be part of the study. The six members that made it through will receive a monthly salary of $6,500.

This is the first stage of theMars500 project. One of the aspects of this mission will be a simulated 30 day “orbit” around Mars.

Another longer simulation will take place later lasting for 520 days scheduled for December. On that mission it is expected a woman would be taking part. That team is yet to be selected.

Scientific American reports:

According to the ESA, the study’s “participants will act as subjects in scientific investigations to assess the effect that isolation has on various psychological and physiological aspects, such as stress, hormone regulation and immunity, sleep quality, mood and the effectiveness of dietary supplements.”

The true lengthen of a trip to Mars would be almost two years. One month of that trip would be orbiting Mars for about a month while part of a team would be on the planet’s surface. The return trip to Earth would be 240 days.

Ford and GM Playing The Good Guy In The Unemployment World

Ford and General Motors are offering to cover car payments for those who are unemployed. The two automakers are trying to give a hand up in these harsh economic times.

General Motors and Ford have announced plans to help those who are unemployed keep their modes of transportation.

The “G.M. Total Confidence” will allow people nine months of payments up to $500 to be missed if they lose their jobs in the first two years of buying a car. The company is also eliminating any negative equity that exists when buyers sell or trade in their vehicle at least three years later. GM’s program will begin on Wednesday and will run for the month of April.

The “Ford Advantage Plan” helps the unemployed out a little more with payments of $700 and under for an entire year. Ford is the only one of the three top car makers in the United States that has not had their hand out for bail out money.

The New York Times reports:

“Consumers remain anxious about the economy and their own outlook for the future. We at Ford want to do our part to rebuild faith in the marketplace,” said Ken Czubay, vice president of Sales and Marketing.

The Ford plan will run until June 1. The company is also offering zero percent financing through its Ford Motor Credit on certain Ford, Mercury and Lincoln cars.

After the announcement shares for the automaker rose 1.5 percent to $2.80 Tuesday morning.

The two American car makers are following the lead of Korea’s Hyundai. The Korean automaker came out with their plan in January that allows buyers who lose their income within one year to return their vehicle without a penalty to their credit rating.

Car sales fell to a 16-year low in 2008 as tough economic times kept buyers off of car lots.

Angel Actor Andy Hallett Dead At Age 33

Andy Hallett, best known of the character Lorne on the WB series Angel, has passed away from heart failure at the age of 33. His longtime friend and agent Pat Brady said the actor died Sunday night.

Hallett died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles after battling the disease for five years. His father was by his side.

Despite frequent hospital stays the actor spent the after Angel ended on his music career.

Five years ago I attended a Buffy Con in Tampa, Florida that Hallett was starring at. I had the chance to met the charming young man. At the time he was recovering from a hospital stay but if you didn’t know you could not have been able to tell.

His infectious laugh entertained those who listened to him playing the piano after hours. RIP Andy the angels are singing along with you now.

In China Capital Punishment Comes In A Van

Last year 1,715 people were put to death by execution in China last year. This year estimates put the death count at nearly 10,000. What happens after a person is killed could be considered criminal. Organs are harvested and sold to the highest bidder.

When Jiang Yong, a corrupt city planner is put to death this year it will not be behind bars. He can expect to die in a white van while lethal drugs course through his veins. It is possible to be sentenced to death for anyone of 68 crimes in China.

Jiang Yong is one of those who will soon have organs used by others if he doesn’t win an appeal.

See Yong, a large man with glasses, had a mistress who he enjoyed showering with gifts. Madame Tang must have been given quite a few nice baubles since Yong took more than £1 million in brides from shady entrepreneurs who wanted protected land to build on.

Yong got caught with his hand in the cookie jar by the Chinese authorities last year. He confessed his crimes and was given a death sentence. He was one of the many that face the same fate.

It’s not hard to be sentenced to death in China. Crimes ranging from fraud to tax evasion can be enough to put a needle in a person’s arm.

Jinguan Auto, a Chinese automaker, produced the white vans that on the outside look like standard police vans. The vans cost £60,000. The insides of the vans though differ vastly from the other law enforcement vehicles. They are speed from one site to another at 80 mph. The vans save money for the government. No building is needed to carry out the organ harvests. The van is able to whip on over to local jails to execute locally in the very community that criminals broke the laws.

All of the deaths are videotaped so that they comply to the strict rules that the government has laid out.

The Daily Mail reports:

‘We have not sold our execution cars to foreign countries yet,’ beamed a proud spokesman. But if they need one, they could contact our company directly.’

When it is time for a prisoner to walk the long green mile they are placed on a automated stretcher and moves into the inside of the van already set up as a sterile operating chamber. Inside the doctors administer drugs that will quickly kill their ‘patient’ and then harvest the prisoner’s eyes, kidney, liver, pancreas and lungs. The heart though can not be used as it has been damaged by the drugs that killed the prisoners.

The vans are being compared to the gas wagons that Nazis used to kill millions.

The program started three years ago and then quieted down last summer as not to offend the human rights groups during the Olympic Games held in Beijing.

The games are over and the vans are back in business.

All of the deaths are videotaped so that they comply to the strict rules that the government has laid out.

Chinese hospitals perform up to 20,000 organ transplants a year. A typical kidney transplant costs £5,000 but that price can rapidly increase if the patient has the money to request an organ quickly.

China used to kill their prisoners by firing squad and then dig out the lethal bullet to charge the family with. It seems that day when family members were asked to pay for the bullet that killed their loved one is gone in China. The organ train is a high payer and those who are in the wrong get to fund the money wagon.

Miracle Catch As Toddler Saved From 40-Foot Window Fall

Two Massachusetts men are being touted as heroes after catching a toddler who fell out of a third story window Sunday evening.

Father of two Robert Lemire was chatting on his cell phone when he saw the tyke dangling out of a window across from a pizza shop in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He was joined by 23-year-old Alex Day who had been in the home for a Bible study in time to have save the 18-month-old from a free fall. The pair worked as a team with Day catching the top of her body, while Lemire grabbed the lower half.

Boston.com reports:

“She looked at me and had a weird look on her face as if to say, ‘Wow, all of a sudden I’m down here,’ ” Day recalled in an interview today. He said he rushed the baby back upstairs to her home. On the stairs, he said, the baby actually started chuckling.

Little Caliah Clark’s father was in the home at the time tending to a newborn sibling. She was taken to Lawrence General Hospital for evaluation but the police believe that she had no serious injuries.

The Eagle Tribune reports that Caliah’s father expressed

“his disappointment as to what had just occurred,” according to a police report. Clark told police he was caring for a newborn child in the apartment’s bathroom when he heard a commotion outside. When he went to see what the kids were doing, he found his two oldest children near the “wide open window,” the police report said.

“He then reported not seeing the 11/2 year old anywhere in the room and felt like something had gone wrong. He ran down to the second floor where he was met by Alex Day with his child in his hand,” the report said.

The window did not have a protective screen or child guard on it. The Department of Social Services have been notified and are expected to investigate the incident.

Huffington Post Launching Investigative Fund for Journalists

The Huffington Post will be following the trend of foundation-backed journalist that will keep investigative reporters paid during these hard times in the news industry.

The news site Huffington Post is about to launch a $1.75 investigative fund for journalists. The announcement came on Sunday that the news site will bankroll a group of investigative journalists. Co-founder Arianna Huffington is hoping to help laid-off journalists keep on the news beat.

The Huffington Post is one of the largest digital media current affairs sites. It is only four years old with more than 4 million unique readers a month.

Arianna Huffington is quoted by the Guardian:

“All who recognise the indispensable role good journalism plays in our democracy are looking for ways to preserve it during this transitional period.”

Last year during the presidential elections in the United States the HuffPo made a huge stir. One of the projects OffTheBus assembled 12,000 citizen journalists to collect and analyze data from across the nation. The project was the brainchild of Amanda Michel. At the beginning of 2009 Michel left the Post.

Nick Penniman will be heading the Washington-based unit. He is the founder of The American News Project, launched last year to for independent video journalism for the Web.

AFP reports:

“I’m looking forward to producing journalism that can have an impact, and that incorporates the best of traditional journalism and the tools of new media and distributed journalism,” Penniman said.

Senior advisor for the project will be Jay Rosen, associate professor of journalism at New York University. The Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism will also be involved in the $1.75 million project that will kick off with examining issues with the economic crisis.

Additional funding is coming from The Atlantic Philanthropies, a foundation with a multi-billion-dollar endowment that it has to spend by 2020.

Fargo Not Out Of Danger Yet, Storm Winds Could Damage Levees

A winter storm is coming to Fargo, North Dakota with predictions of up to 14 inches of snow. The storm could whip waves up in the swollen Red River causing more flooding.

Engineers aren’t worried about the large snow falls predicted but the waves are another matter. The repeated crashing of the water against the sandbag levees could weaken the protective dikes that surround the city.

Jeff DeZellar, a spokesman for the United States Army Corps of Engineers said that the higher the wind speed the higher the threat is to the levees. The forecast is for winds of 25 MPH.

The Red River has dropped to 39 1/2 feet as of early Monday morning. That is less than the predictions but still 22 feet above flood stage.

This week will be a long one as the city waits to see if last week’s sandbagging effort pays off.

The National Guard is in the process of putting a layer of poly over the levees to help them hold up against the expected high waves.

AP reports:

“The place is so flat,” said John Gulliver, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Minnesota. “It is totally flat so there’s really no place for the water to go because it can’t leave that quickly. So it just keeps backing up like a bathtub with a slow drain.”

Last week two people died from heart attacks in North Dakota, thought to be brought on by the exertion during the flood prevention.

Opinion: Senior Citizens Can Expect To Shell Out A Bundle For Health Care

They have put their time into the work force but their golden years are beginning to be to costly if they become sick. Senior citizens health care coverage is set to hit wallets more in the near future.

A study put out by Fidelity Investments is saying that a couple that retired this year in the United States can expect to pay out about $240,000 for their health care until they die. That is assuming that the husband lives another 17 years and his wife survives him by the average three years. That figure also assumes that the couple qualifies for Medicare and neither spouse has employer-provided health coverage.

The figure this year is up 6.7 percent from 2008’s $225,000 projection.

That cost does not take into account over-the-counter drugs, long term care or dental costs.

Seniors have one day to make changes to their 2009 medicare benefits.

Fox Business reports:

“By now, seniors should have had some experience with their current benefit packages, whether seeing physicians, filling prescriptions or finally reviewing the packet of information provided by their health insurers,” said Bill Stapleton, president and chief executive officer of Health Plan One, the parent company of MedicareSolutions, an online insurance brokerage and Medicare information portal. “Some may be surprised to find out that their physicians are no longer in their plans’ networks or that co-pays and other costs had gone up more than they had anticipated.”

The following changes can be made before April 1, 2009;

– Individuals enrolled in Medicare Advantage Plans with prescription drug
coverage can disenroll back to original Medicare coverage and a separate
prescription drug plan.
– Individuals enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MAPD: undefined, undefined, undefined%)
plan can change to another MAPD plan.
– Individuals enrolled in original Medicare can enroll in a Medicare
Advantage Plan.

Seniors will low incomes are eligible for assistance for drug coverage through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The income requirements for the program is below $12,500 for individuals and $25,000 for couples.

MedicareSolution has a help center set up with customer service advocates to help individuals determine if they are eligible for federal and state programs. To take advantage of this go to www.medicaresolutions.com or call (800) 328-7305.

Gone are the days when the Golden Years meant a time to relax and play with the grandchildren. To survive in today’s world many seniors have to track down a part time job just to make ends meet. If they find themselves sick that is not a possibility.

The high cost of medicine both over and behind the counter is forcing many to have to give up their dreams. And with advancements in the health field that dream becomes a double edged sword. We are living longer. With longer life comes more chances of developing an illness that can wipe out any nest egg that has been put aside. Seniors have to be vigilant in investigating what programs and insurance policies they need to make it through their retirement years.

Simple Finger Device Could Be Heart Attack Tool Soon

A simple device that uses a finger could be the latest equipment in the doctors office to detect factors that could cause heart events. The device is being used in a Mayo study.

A simple noninvasive sensor test that is used on the finger has been found to be highly predictive of a major cardiac event according to the results of a Mayo Clinic study.

This device is great news for ER departments where early diagnosis of heart attack and strokes are life and death.

The EndoPAT by Itamar Medical measures the health of endothelial cells by measuring the blood flow. When the blood flow is off, a condition called endothelial dysfunction, the stage is set for atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and lead to major cardiovascular health problems.

The device was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2003.

In the past there was no simple test for endotheluium function.

The Mayo Clinic study tested 270 patients between August 1999 and August 2007. The patients were between the age of 42 and 66. All of the test subjects knew that they had low-to-medium risk for a major heart event based on their Framingham Risk Score.

The Framingham Risk Score is a score that is used to predict risk. It was developed by the Framingham Heart Study.

Some of the risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and a family history of heart disease.

Science Daily reports:

Dr. Lerman says. “The results of the study may help identify a discriminating tool beyond the Framingham Risk Score,” he says. “And the results of these individual tests may help physicians change a patient’s medications or recommend other therapies, so they don’t have a heart attack or stroke later on.”

the testing process takes 15 minutes. Probes are applied on the two index fingers of both hands and are hooked to a small machine that measures the blood flow. A standard blood pressure cuff is than inflated. The arm without the cuff is the control. A reading is taken three times in fifteen minutes of the blood flow.

A low PH signal indicates that there is endothelial dysfunction and potentially impaired vascular health that may lead to or serve as a marker for future events.

The study is being presented on Tuesday at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session in Orlando.

6 Dead In Santa Clara Shooting

Police are in the process of investigating a shooting that has left six dead in Santa Clara, California. The shooting took place Sunday night in the Rivermark Townhome development. It is believed that the shooter took his own life after killing a family.

News reports have come in that four children and two adults are dead after a shooting in Santa Clara, California.

It is believed that the shooter is among the victims. The police responded to a injured person report at about 8:30 PM Sunday night. When they entered the residence they were confronted with five people dead from multiple gun wounds. Three of the dead at the scene have been said to be children.

Two more victims were transported to hospital in critical condition. Since that time, an infant girl has passed away from her injuries.

On Monday morning Lt. Phil Cooke of the Santa Clara Police Department said that the crime is being considered a “family on family” murder scene. There are indications that all of the victims, including the shooter are members of the same family.

Mercury News reports:

“It just simply never happens here. I mean never,” said Jane Thornton, a neighborhood resident who came up on a scene Sunday night as she was walking her dog. “We are in hard times here.”

It’s now being said that neighbors called in the report to the police when they sensed something was wrong at the townhouse.

The San Francisco Gate reports:

“Certainly it is a grievous tragedy, and the city’s thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims,” Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan said today. “Words just can’t describe the enormity of the tragedy.”

She added, “When things get tough in life, in the world, it seems that these kinds of incidents erupt, and I would just urge all of our community to pay attention to your neighbors. So often the greatest regret is the feeling that this could have been prevented if somebody had seen something or someone could have intervened in some way.”

This crime scene is the city’s deadliest shooting.

Toronto Weatherman Dave Devall Will Turn in His Umbrella

On Groundhog Day this year Dave Devall shocked viewers of CTV Toronto with the news that he would be leaving the airwaves on April 3. Devall has been forecasting in Toronto for the past 48 years.

CTV Toronto’s press release of the announcement quotes the legendary DeVall:

“I’ve always said that I’ll retire when I get it right and I think that I’ve finally done it!” said Devall of his pending retirement. “I am very excited to start this new chapter and I’m certain that Tom will do a great job. I hope that he gets a very warm reception from Torontonians.”

DeVall is from Toronto. An alumni of Ryerson’s Radio and Television Arts program, he divided his studies with serving the nation in the Royal Canadian Air Force. The RCAF is where he began his training in meteorology. In 1961 DeVall auditioned with over 2,000 other hopeful people to become part of CTV Toronto. He was one of just six broadcasters hired for the job. Before becoming a broadcaster DeVall’s voice could be heard by Canadians as Jim Perry’s announcer on many of his game shows, including Definition, Headline Hunters and Eye Bet, as well as in Ford television commercials on the popular Hockey Night in Canada program.

He hasn’t stopped learning. By attending weather conferences throughout North America DeVall has stayed on top of the changes in weather science.

One of the skills that has made DeVall famous is writing backwards with both hands. He has used that skill to draw pictures of what to expect from any given day’s weather. He learned how to do this while in the RCAF.

When DeVall was a child he wanted to be a pilot. He took that love and earned his wings. Viewers of CTV Toronto have had the opportunity to watch his videos of weather phenomena and conditions that he shot himself while flying his own Cessna.

On a personal note DeVall was honoured in February 2007 as he became an honorary colonel of the Canadian Forces Squadron 436 at CFB Trenton.

Last week DeVall was also honoured when a street in the town of Scarborough was voted to be renamed Dave DeVall Way. The former Channel Nine Court leads cars down to the CTV studio.

Toronto CTV.ca reports:

I’ve had so many cards, letters, e-mails, you know tributes, and this is going to be another one of those important tributes to me.” Devall said. “I had no idea that what I did on a day-to-day basis as a job, would have so much impact on peoples’ lives.

As The River Starts To Level Off A Look At Fargo

Today the people of Fargo, South Dakota gathered at a hotel to pray after their own church has been closed due to the threat of flooding.

The latest news out is good, the river levels have started to drop.

Did Mother Nature send a special spring freeze in the nick of time for the residents of Fargo, North Dakota?

The Weather Service said that even though the Red River is falling in Fargo, it remains extremely high.

“We advise people not to let their guard down, but just to be cautious,” he said. “There’s quite a way to go yet, and just keep an eye on it.”

Unmanned airplanes generally used to patrol the U.S. border are being used to help fight the flood. The high tech radar and video technology allows the drone to capture changes in flood waters and detect structural damage faster than the human eye.

This is the first time the plane has been used to survey flood conditions.

The danger still remains and will until the river has receded to normal levels.

One casualty to the flood is the Oak Grove Lutheran School when a dike broke glooding the 5-acre campus.

Star Tribune reports:

“The campus is basically devastated,” said Mayor Dennis Walaker. “They fought the good fight. They lost and there’s nothing wrong with that. Those things will continue to happen. I guarantee it.” The breach is a “wakeup call” that shows the threats the city will face for the next week, the mayor said.

“They made a gallant effort,” Principal Morgan Forness told KFGO radio. “They gave it everything they had, and just couldn’t contain it. It came to the center of the campus, and now, it’s inundating all of the buildings.”

It has been estimated that the flood clean up will take two months. Five homes have been lost in the Fargo city limits.

Now it’s time for reality to set in after a surreal week of battling the Red River and the force of nature. Many of those that were in danger of losing their homes to the flood would have had to rebuild without the help of insurance. Less than 800 homeowners in the flood warning areas of North Dakota and Minnesota have insurance protecting them from flood damage.

In Fargo itself only 586 homeowners are covered for flood insurance. With the state of the economy federal help may not have been there to help the residents with the massive costs that a flood can bring.

WCCO reports:

“Memories are short, and people don’t remember the 1997 flood,” said Butch Kinerney, spokesman for the National Flood Insurance Program, managed by FEMA. “You see it time and time again: People forget the past.”

Gunman Kills Eight at North Carolina Nursing Home

A deadly shooting took place around 10:30 this morning at a North Carolina nursing home. A gunman has been captured after killing at least eight people. The dead include seven patients and a nurse.

Sky News is reporting that eight people have been killed and at least five more have been injured at a shooting in North Carolina’s Pinelake Health and Rehab nursing home. One of the injured is a policeman.

The police officer that was wounded was the first to arrive at the scene. He is said to be in good condition at Moore Regional Hospital.

The gunman has been taken into custody and is among the injured.

Pinelake Health is a facility for Alzheimer’s patients. It has 90 beds. Family members are outside of the yellow taped building waiting for word about their loved ones.

Reuters reports:

“There are six (people) that have been confirmed dead and there are five others injured,” an officer at the Moore County Sheriff’s Office told Reuters, although he gave no more details and referred calls to the Carthage police.

The gunman is being reported to be a young male. The motive for the shooting is not known at this time.

Carthage Police have stated that they plan to hold a news conference at 5 p.m. tonight.

New Drug Shows Promise In Treatment of Heart Failure

Corthera Inc. announced on Sunday that results from a detailed study on the new drug Relaxin shows promising efficacy in the treatment of acute heart failure.

The research focused on 234 patients in eight countries. The data showed that when Relaxin was administered with standard-of-care therapy for acute heart failure (AHF) gave quick, substantial and sustained relief from breathlessness. The drug also demonstrated consistent trends in shortening the time spent in the hospital and improved long term outcomes for patients with heart failure.

The findings were presented on March 29, 2009 at the merican College of Cardiology’s (ACC) 58th Annual Scientific Session in Orlando, Florida by John R. Teerlink, M.D., professor of medicine, University of California San Francisco, Director of Heart Failure, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco and co-principal investigator of the study.

PRN Newswire reports:

“The results of the study clearly indicated favorable treatment effects on symptoms, signs and outcomes in patients hospitalized with AHF,” said Teerlink. “The use of relaxin led to considerable improvement in dyspnea when compared to placebo and lasted up to 14 days, longer than any therapy studied. In this study, relaxin administration was safe and well tolerated. These results provide a clear direction for the Phase III study.”

Corthera Inc. describes Relaxin as:

Relaxin is a naturally occurring peptide hormone that acts as a systemic and renal vasodilator through multiple vascular control pathways. Elevated levels of relaxin modulate increases in renal and cardiac function that meet the increased hemodynamic demands of pregnancy. Consistent with this natural role of the hormone, pharmaceutically manufactured relaxin has been shown to have these effects in multiple human studies of men and non-pregnant women. Data from the Pre-RELAX-AHF study, as well as a pilot study in patients with heart failure, support the expectation that these effects may be beneficial in relieving the signs and symptoms of heart failure.

The drug could prove to be beneficial for the estimated 5.3 million Americans that have heart failure. The condition is often deadly and costs nearly $34.8 billion a year for direct and indirect medical treatments.

Hair Grown From Stem Cells May Help The Deaf

New stem cell research growing hairs may help the deaf hear again. The research is still in the early stages but it may be possible in time for stem cells therapy to be used to cure certain types of deafness.

Complex hair cells and neurons needed for hearing has been the focus of some University of Sheffield researchers. They have found that they can encourage stem cells from the inner ears of human foetuses to grow into these highly specialized hearing cells.

The hope is to someday soon perform cell transplants to elevate one form of deafness called sensorineural hearing loss.

The most common type of deafness, sensorineural hearing loss affects more than 6 million people and accounts for 90 percent of all hearing loss.

At this time the only treatment available is cochlear implants. These devices can not restore the full range of hearing however.

The Telegraph reports:

Dr Marcelo Rivolta, who led the research, said: “The hair cells and neurons that give us the ability to hear are only produced during the embryonic stage of development. Once they are damaged or lost, they do not regenerate.

“There is a clear need for a therapy that can regenerate or replace these hair cells and neurons when they are damaged.”

At this stage of the research only animals are being tested. It could take up to ten years before the method is used on humans to restore their hearing.

Dr. Rivolta does encourage those facing hearing problems though with news about the near future.

“In the shorter term, these cells also provide us with a very good model for studying the development of human hearing and the effect that new drug treatments may have on them.”

Stem Cells May Increase Boob Size

The future of beauty may be coming from Britain by way of Japan. Researchers have found a way to increase a lady’s breast while at the same time decreasing her waistline.

Researchers in the United Kingdom may have come up with a winning formula using stem cells to increase breast size. Already in trial use for breast cancer patients the process may soon be available for the mainstream.

The new treatment takes stem cells from spare fat on the stomach or thigh and then growing them in the woman’s breast. Surgeons who have used the method report a more natural look than synthetic implants.

The stem cells, once removed by spare fat on the woman’s body are isolated using equipment owned by GE Healthcare. The concentrated stem cells are then mixed with another batch of fat and then injected into the breast.

The process doesn’t make for an overnight change as it takes several months to achieve the desired shape and size.

There is a problem. The new process will only increase the breast up one cup size. Don’t worry ladies, researchers are burning the midnight oil in order to give you a natural HH cup in the future.

About a dozen British women have underwent the process after having cancerous cells removed. In May ten ladies will be going through the process who do not have breast cancer.

It is thought that by the end of the year the process will be ready for private patients. The estimated cost is around £6,500 says Professor Kefah Mokbel, a consultant breast surgeon at the London Breast Institute at the Princess Grace hospital.

The Daily Mail reports:

‘This is a very exciting advance in breast surgery,’ Mokbel said. ‘Breasts treated with stem cells feel more natural because this tissue has the same softness as the rest of the breast..

‘Implants are a foreign body. They are associated with long-term complications and require replacement. They can also leak and cause scarring.’

‘We are optimistic we can easily achieve an increase of one cup size,’ he said. ‘We cannot say yet if we can achieve more. That may depend on the stem cells we can harvest.’

Japanese surgeons have been performing the technique for the past six years.

Using stem cells in healthy women is not without controversy. Some experts are saying that the procedure should stay with breast cancer patients for the time being. Medical bodies have warned that there simply isn’t enough research to deem the technology is safe and effective.

Eva Weiler-Mithoff, a consultant plastic surgeon at Canniesburn hospital in Glasgow, points out that breast cancer patients have regular follow-up appointments that women who just have cosmetic surgery do not. Because of this any complications may be missed in non-cancer patients.

Opinion: It’s Saturday Night In Toronto, Must Be Time To Slam

If you’re lucky enough to live in Toronto you can come to Poetry Slams at the Drake Underground on Queen Street West every month. On March 28, it was the Toronto Poetry Slam’s semi finals hosted by Dave “Big Deal” Silverberg.

This Saturday night’s show featured some of Toronto’s best Slam Poets along with special guest Jamaal St. John from New Jersey. Big Deal David Silverberg (yes, the same guy who helps run DigitalJournal.com) was on hand to keep the pace moving and provide a haiku or two.

People had to be turned away tonight. There was no room to find a chair so the floor had to make due for many lucky enough to find a spot to rest. My spot on the ground was beside Valentino Assenza’s mother who told me how very proud of her son she was.

Teens on a first date and teachers wanting to have a first experience joined others who live for Slam. Screaming out the Slam Anthem we all became one, a mass of souls ready to hear the spoken word.

Tomy, Lara,Truth Is, Nolan, White Noise Machine, Yogi, Peace, Pan, Valentino Assenza, Ariel Platt, Kimiko and Mike Lipsius were all completing for the eight spots to go onto the finals in April. The final winners will be representing Toronto not only at the Canadian slam Finals but at the National Poetry Slam in West Palm Springs, Florida later this year.

Slam Poetry isn’t your momma’s poetry. It’s gutsy, new age and in your face. Topics can range from comedy to tears. The energy is infectious and the emotions are raw. Tonight’s spoken words did not fail the standing room only audience. From the fears of Iraq and the pain of the recent fighting in the Gaza Strip the horrors of war were expressed by many of the poets. Self doubt, body size, capitalism and the spoken word rounded out the mix. Two of my personal favorites were spoken by Tomy and Truth Is. Truth Is spoke of wanting to be able to sing a love song to one’s self and fearing that the words would never ring true while Tomy spoke of his daughter’s silent first minutes of life. Both poems are raw and powerful, as were all of the poems tonight.

Slam events have judges. It’s hard to judge a poet’s word but as Slam is not just poetry in motion but the energy and performance level the judge’s scores are needed for one poet or several to move on.

The eight finalist that will move on to the Finals on April 25, 2009 at Hugh’s Room at 2261 Dundas St. West are:

Tomy, Lara, Truth Is, Nolan, Peace, Valentino Assenza, Ariel Platt and Kimiko. Kimiko and Peace are newcomers to the Toronto Slam scene while the other six have been touching the crowds for a while now.

As with all Slam’s an international star is featured. Tonight the audience was graced with the stylings of Jamaal St. John from New Jersey. He was amazing. From his poem honouring women who know what Lane Bryant’s is and how he knows there is a God because real women have curves to his final piece the questioned a man who told him that Barack Obama wasn’t black enough to earn his vote, his words rang true.

If you have the chance to hit up Hugh’s Room on April 25 don’t hesitate. Poetry slams are where it’s at in Toronto. Culture comes cheap and speaks to your soul.

*The photos with this article are not the best quality, as they were taken on a cellphone with dark stage lighting.

Monster of Colombia, Arcebio Alvarez

Arcebio Alvarez has been accused of fathering 8 children with his daughter in Colombia. It’s being said that the relationship with the woman now in her thirties begin when she was a mere ten years old.

On Saturday Arcebio Alvarez, 58, was taken from his home in handcuffs. The Colombian man admits having a relationship with the 35-year-old woman who is the mother of his children but denies that she is his biological daughter. He has been charged with charges of violent carnal knowledge, abusive sex acts, and incest committed against his 35-year-old daughter.

The woman and her children are in state protective custody. She went to the authorities after an evangelical Christian pastor convinced her to come forward. Alba Nidia has said that her mother died when she was five-years-old. Her father began to abuse her five years later.

The BBC quotes the woman about the relationship.

“I always respected him as my father and he is my father,” she said.

“He never spoke about [incest], about why we were doing it. Sometimes I would ask him and he would say it was God’s will.”

Alba Nidia has been eleven children altogether with Alvarez but three of the children died. Her eight surviving children are ages one to nineteen. The family is from the town of Mariquita.

Alvarez told the judge that he and Alba Nidia Alvarez agreed to have a relationship.

Sky News reports:

“I adopted her. We agreed to have a romantic relationship because we really loved each other. But she was not my own child.”

Alvarez is now in jail under military guard. He is having to be protected around the clock from angry crowds.

Child welfare advocates are calling for a life sentence if Alvarez is convicted of the alleged crimes. The case is prompting a movement to change the current Colombian law to ensure those who are found guilty of raping children are sentenced to life imprisonment.

Traditional Parents Tend To Have Well-adjusted Tykes

Do you tell your kids no from time to time? Did you breastfeed? Do you want your kids to achieve greatness? Chances are your children are doing well then. A British study is showing that being a traditional parent is a good way to have well adjusted kids.

From breastfeeding to having high expectations for little one are ways to insure happy kids.

The study of 1,136 mothers reading a story book to their one-year-old found that breastfeeding for six months was assiciated with parents that continue positive parenting skills beyond infancy.

The UK has one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in Europe. Many mothers give up early on because of lack of support or they have to return to the work force. Fewer than eight in ten mothers breastfeed from birth. Only one fifth of have continued to feed their babies breast milk six months later.

Researchers at the Institute of Education in London recommend that more is done for mothers of infants so that they can breastfeed their young, including if necessary helping them with money so they can delay returning to work until their children are a little older.

The Telegraph reports:

Dr Leslie Gutman, who led the research, said: “Breastfeeding is a time-consuming activity and mothers can be tempted to put their babies on the bottle earlier if they feel they have to return to work for financial reasons.

“Mothers are given information leaflets in hospitals about breastfeeding but we may need more than this. Another option is workplace nurseries where mothers could go and feed their babies during the day.”

Breastfeeding has proven to be the best nourishment for infants. Studies have shown that breastfed children are less prone to obesity, have fewer allergies and respiratory illnesses and have higher IQ.

The study showed that the mothers who most benefited from breastfeeding were low income mothers. Those mothers had a higher quality of interaction with their children even five years later.

It appears that martial status though doesn’t change the quality of mother interaction with children. If anything single mothers who breastfeed seemed to make more of an effort to connect with their kids.

The Daily Mail reports that Gutman’s study also shows that strict parents have more ‘competent’ children. This is very important when raising girls. Those who lack confidence tend to turn to drugs according to the left-wing London’s Institute of Education.

‘Multiple studies have documented that children who have authoritative parents – that is, both firm disciplinarians and warm, receptive caregivers – are more competent than their peers at developmental periods, including pre-school, school age and adolescence,’ said the report.

Opinion: Facebook Users Set To Send The Pope A Condom Shipment

When Pope Benedict told Africans not to use condoms he started a fury with people across the globe. Thousands have pledged to send the head of the Catholic church millions of condoms.

Last week the Pope told reporters that distributing condoms increases HIV. Those were fighting words.

CNN reports that the Pope wants to uphold the teaching of the church that every sperm is sacred.

The world though seems to think it’s laughable that a man who’s pledged to go without sex has the right to tell the world how to conduct themselves when it comes to hanky-panky.

Facebook groups have sprung up to give the Pope a rubbery piece of their mind.

One of the groups; 27 March –> Let’s send a Condom to Pope Ratzinger! papa preservativo is in Italian but the meaning is quite clear. On March 27 the members were to send the Pope a special gift to:

Prefettura della Casa Pontificia
00120 Città del Vaticano

Condoms for Pope Benedict XVI is another of the groups. This group has a Condom Day for Pope Bene! event planned at a bed near you from Friday, March 27 until Sunday, March 29. It’s touted as the cocktail party where they’re all unwrapped!

The groups are joining in the protest like some world leaders that were shocked by the pope’s words.

“When any influential person, be it a religious or political leader, makes a false scientific statement that could be devastating to the health of millions of people, they should retract or correct the public record,” The Lancet said in an editorial.

“Anything less from Pope Benedict would be an immense disservice to the public and health advocates, including many thousands of Catholics, who work tirelessly to try and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS worldwide.”

The Pope may have the old world values going but in the face of a virus that doesn’t ask first if the next occupant is headed for Heaven a condom is the one protector that can work for everyone.

200 Children In UK Have Been Identified As Potential Terrorist

British police have identified two hundred children as potential terrorists, some of whom are only 13-years-old. Eighteen months ago a new program was started to ID possible young terrorist and it appears to to working.

In the eighteen months since the terror prevention program started Sir Norman Bettison, the chief constable of West Yorkshire Police and Britain’s most senior officer in charge of terror prevention, states at least 200 cases have been intervened.

That number is a huge increase from the 10 children identified prior to the June 2008 start of the The “Channel project”, run by the Association of Chief Police Officers.

The project asks teachers, parents and other leaders in the community to watch for signs that their children are being groomed by extremists or drawn to the viewpoints of extremists.

The Telegraph reports:

“One of the four bombers of 7 July was, on the face of it, a model student. He had never been in trouble with the police, was the son of a well-established family and was employed and integrated into society.

“But when we went back to his teachers they remarked on the things he used to write. In his exercise books he had written comments praising al-Qaeda.

“That was not seen at the time as being substantive. Now we would hope that teachers might intervene, speak to the child’s family or perhaps the local imam who could then speak to the young man.”

When a child is identified outreach workers come in to discuss with the family the concerns. The outreach workers are religious figures in the community like a local imam.

Sir Norman said that some of the children have had police directed intervention.

The basis of the project is to build trust and confidence within the community. By targeting children that could be vulnerable they are hoping to stop terrorism in its tracks. Sir Norman is clear that this is not to be confused with a target on the Muslim community instead they are targeting criminals and would-be terrorists that could become entrenched in Islamic extremism rhetoric.

The project is covering Lancashire, Lambeth in London, West Yorkshire, the Midlands, Bedfordshire and South Wales. It is now set to be started in the rest of London, South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.

The Telegraph reports:

A Home Office spokesman said: “We are committed to stopping people becoming or supporting terrorists or violent extremists. The aim of the Channel project is to directly support vulnerable people by providing supportive interventions when families, communities and networks raise concerns about their behaviour.”

There are some concerns that the project could infringe on children’s privacy the Daily Mail reports:

Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain said: ‘There is a difference between the police being concerned or believing a person may be at risk of recruitment and a person actually engaging in unlawful, terrorist activity.

‘That said, clearly in recent years some people have been lured by terrorist propaganda emanating from al-Qa’ida-inspired groups.

‘It would seem that a number of Muslim youngsters have been seduced by that narrative and all of us, including the Government, have a role to play in making sure that narrative is seen for what it is: a nihilistic one which offers no hope, only death and destruction.’

The Red River Flood Will Not Be a New Katrina, Vows Obama

As the waters threaten South Dakota, Minnesota and Canadian towns along the Red River the president is watching. Obama is vowing that the federal government will be working to avert a complete disaster.

Obama spoke on Saturday pledging his support according to USA Today.

“Even as we face an economic crisis which demands our constant focus, forces of nature can also intervene in ways that create other crises to which we must respond — and respond urgently,” the president said in his weekly radio and Internet address.

“I will continue to monitor the situation carefully,” he pledged. “We will do what must be done to help.”

The president told residents in the two states to be vigilant in reading the flood reports and to follow the evacuation orders from federal, state and local officials if they are declared.

Obama heaped praise on the thousands of volunteers who have spent the past week building sandbag dikes.

While Obama is at Camp David this weekend his aides stress that he is being kept up to date with the flood details.

Obama doesn’t want another Katrina on his hands. In August 2005 former President George W. Bush’s popularity took a nose dive as New Orleans struggle after Hurricane Katrina and the levees surrounding the city broke down.

The past few days President Obama has been signing emergency and disaster declarations for Minnesota and North Dakota. On Saturday during his weekly national address Obama outlined the scope of his administration’s involvement. Both the Homeland Security Department and FEMA are coordinating the federal response. Both Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FEMA administrator Nancy Ward have been in close contact with state officials. Ward has been sent to Fargo already.

FEMA acting administrator Nancy Ward says that New Orleans has taught FEMA that the agency needs to be in place when a disaster happens instead of later. That is the way to insure the help that is needed happens sooner.

Ward is in Fargo Saturday because she wanted to see the situation firsthand to better understand the challenges.

USA Today reports:

“At moments like these, we are reminded of the power of nature to disrupt lives and endanger communities,” Obama said. “But we are also reminded of the power of individuals to make a difference.”

“In facing sudden crises or more stubborn challenges, the truth is we are all in this together — as neighbors and fellow citizens,” Obama said.

With the highest levels ever reported Red River could leave thousands homeless.

Reuters reports:

“In terms of natural disasters that can strike this country, floods are just the worst, at least in my experience,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters in an interview in Washington.

“It is a horrible human tragedy to watch this,” he said. “I think the folks in North Dakota and Minnesota have done an extraordinary job in trying to protect against this.”

The flooding could affect planting this year. Up to 500,000 acres could be reduced for the spring wheat crop. More than half of the sugar beets and a large portion of spring wheat for the United States is grown in the area.

Lost Radioactive Nugget Found In China

Last week a radioactive nugget was lost in China during the demolition of a cement plant in Tongchuan city in Shaanxi province. The lead ball was found in the mill on Friday.

The piece that was missing was a radioactive nuclear scale that is used in making precise measurements. That little nugget contains Caesium-137. The isotope’s radiation can do a lot of damage to the human body if in the wrong hands. It is capable of destroying the nervous system, causing infertility and possible death.

AP reports:

“The production facilities were auctioned to a company called Sichuan Kangna. The company staff mistook the scale for steel scraps and sold it,” Quinling Cement official Mr. Gao said.

The nugget was lost as the walls to a 53-year-old building came tumbling down Monday. Shaanxi Qinling Cement Co. had been auctioned off to Sichuan Kangna. The provincial environment protection department believes that the ball was mistakenly sold as scrap metal.

Experts scoured metal scrap yards and steel mills in pursuit of the radioactive material during the week.
When the radioactive material was located at Xingbao Steel and Iron Co. Ltd in Weinan City on Friday inspectors found high levels of radioactivity around a smelter and steel slags. The ball itself had been melted at the plant.

The contaminated smelter and steel slags are being cleaned so that they will not threaten the environment.

Nuclear Power Daily reports:

Wang Xuhui, a researcher at the Xian-based Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, said the plant’s products were safe, while most of the radioactive element had been mixed in the slags.

Dinner At the Oakland Testicle Festival Is A Real Ball

It’s time once again for the Oakland, California annual Testicle Festival. On Monday those in town can belly up to 400 pounds of bull balls as the Rotary Club dishes out a $50 sit down meal for charity.
The proceeds for the “mountain oysters” will help out the Oakland Cowboy Museum. Last year the dinner raised $28,000.

Young male bovines are routinely castrated into steers on cattle ranches. It makes the animals more docile and thus much easier to handle than bull headed males.

The event is in it’s 28th year of gonad glory.

The Modesto Bee reports that the family jewels are a tasty treat.

Christie Camarillo, executive director of the Oakdale Cowboy Museum, swears they’re delicious.

“They kind of taste like chicken. I say it’s between fried calamari and chicken liver,” she said. “I’ve had them fixed all different ways, but you can’t beat how the Rotarians do it.”

Fargo Residents Are Fleeing, Important Information For Residents

As a public service to those in Fargo and families fleeing the flood Digital Journal is putting up this article for important information that may be needed.
Robert Fitzgerald has told residents that are fleeing the Red River in Fargo to stay in touch with family through a special Red Cross web site that has been put in place. In addition there is a phone number that can be used if Internet service is not available at 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Fargo Police Department: if you evacuate, post a notice on your front door. Information should include: Name, Date and Time of Evacuation, Contact Information. Police will use this information if they have to contact the owner about their residence.

Those who are handicapped and need assistance in getting out of Fargo please call the special needs evacuation hotline at 701-241-5791.

A flood map and Contingency Plan is located here with through instructions.

If you are leaving please turn off your water supply in an effort to conserve water. Also please plug their sewer drains before you leave, the Fargo Police are making that request.

For those needing a place for their pets:
The Fargo-Moorhead Humane Society has set up an emergency animal shelter at the Shoelander Arena on the West Fargo Fairgrounds. Emergency intake of domestic animals (dogs, cats, etc.) will be available 24 hours a day for all F-M residents who have evacuated. Visitation hours between owners and animals will be from 11am to 3pm daily. The shelter is currently in good shape for volunteers and donations.

Fergus Falls Salvation Army now accepting area evacuees at it’s Fergus Falls chapel and gymnasium. Call 218-739-9692 to arrange shelter. Mike told me that no one has come in as of yet but they will be open all weekend and are waiting to help. They hope that they are not needed but please feel free to go to them if you are in need, Only one person has come in so far but he was not an evacuee, just a person needing a place. All motel rooms are filled in town.

MNDOT closed the right two westbound lanes of Interstate 94 from Highway 75/8th Street to the Red River. Traffic will be down to one westbound lane at that location. The closure will include the westbound I-94 entrance ramp from Highway 75/8th Street. The right two lanes and the entrance ramp will be closed until further notice. The eastbound I-94 exit ramp at Highway 75/8th Street also remains closed until further notice.

The Cass County Commission issued a mandatory evacuation advisory for the following neighborhoods: Chrisan, Forest River (including Maple Prairie and Orchard Glen), Round Hill, Granberg, Amber Plains, Rivershore, Heritage Hills, Eagles Nest, Butcher Block. Residents, including volunteers working in those areas, are advised to evacuate during daylight hours. For assistance, call 701-241-5793.

Susan Thoeming Cagle has advised that Prairie St Johns has begun evacuation of patients. For people who are having emergent psychiatric crises (feel suicidal or homicidal without the ability to keep themselves safe), please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Similarly, if you are detoxing from alcohol or benzos (Xanax, Valium, Ativan, Klonipin, etc), withdrawal can be life-threatening and you should seek emergency medical help if needed.

Moorhead Public Schools just announced they’ll close schools all next week. Fargo Public Schools expects to cancel school all next week according to Superintendent of Fargo Schools Rick Buresh. Posted 03.27.2009 at 12:48 PM.

Concordia school has canceled classes through April 5th.

Stepping Off The Fear Factor Train And Jumping On The Adventure Tram

I have to tell you something profound Gentle Readers, you are going to die. It’s just the way it is. How you go about it though is a different story.

We all enter into this life with one ultimate goal; death. It’s the one known factor of birth. It doesn’t matter if you eat a tree of bran you’re going to die.

In this world of unknowing it seems that the one known is the thing that people fear the most and make the most internal deals about. The “I swear I will never ever do that again if I just survive this one” and the “No! I will die!” thoughts are streaming in around the world.

There is a choice though. Instead of allowing fear to rule humans can hop onto the Adventure Tram.

What’s that you ask? An Adventure Tram? Is there a Web address for how to get there?

The answer is no my friends. There is no bus depot or spot along the pathway of life to jump on. It’s a personal choice that comes with risks. To jump on you have to be willing to laugh at the face of death, the terrors of fear and the pain of time. It’s not always an easy ride.

Humans are designed to fear. We fear a lot. Mostly it’s the unknowns that crank up our nightmares. If it’s not visable then we can’t research it to death and know the outcome.

Life is like that. If you choice to live this gift of life as an adventure you’re having to put aside the fear that is a root of the soul.

Fear at times is good for us. Fear of our parents keeps kids from doing things that would kill Superman. Fear of being in pain keeps us out of the back alleys when we hear a fight going on.

Fear also stops us from helping others out. We may not be able to survive that fight, pay a bill or face our friends if we think about rushing in to play the hero.

Fear stops us from experiencing new adventures because they are unknown. The fear of falling flat on our face, failing or disappointing someone keeps us glued to our seats too many times.

But what we fear the most is something we have no control over in reality. That is death. We fear it so much at times we stop living in order to avoid it. That, my friends is a crime.

It may make me viewed as a nut but I refuse to be a part of the Fear Factor. I love this gift of life way to much to sit back and not savor it.

Book me a pass for the Adventure Tram. Hope you decide to come along with me.

As Red River Rises, Fargo Residents Start To Flee

The Red River has broken a 112-year flood record today as dozens of families fled their homes. The Red River in North Dakota is starting to crest in Fargo, causing the town to begin evacuating.
Last night the largest hospital in Fargo was evacuated, carrying about 180 patients to safer ground.
Overnight 150 homes were to be evacuated as the water seeped through the sandbag dikes.

Workers are focusing on the main dike in town. Homes that lie between the dike and the barriers may have to be sacrificed. The main roadways have been blocked on Friday so that sandbag trucks can get where they are needed faster.

Bloomberg reports:

“We’re losing neighborhoods south of Fargo in Cass County,” said Bonnie Johnson, Cass County administrator, in an interview yesterday. “We’re losing the battle on the flood fight.”

The river is now at 40.37 feet in Fargo.

Two lignite-fed power stations have been forced to shut down according to KFYR TV. The plants have a combined capacity of 850 megawatts. New generators have been brought on line to keep power up.

Mayor Dennis Walaker isn’t ready to give up the fight yet for his town. IHT quotes the mayor.

“We do not want to give up yet. We want to go down swinging if we go down,” Walaker said Thursday, just hours after the disheartening news that forecasters had — yet again — increased the projected crest of the north-flowing Red River.

At Fargo – Moorhead Flood Information on Facebook the message board has been going strong with volunteers saying where the sandbags are urgently needed.

Robert Fitzgerald wrote to let others know the road closures.

The Fargo Police Department is announcing the closure of several roads that will be used for flood truck traffic only. The closures will begin at 6:00 a.m. Friday, March 27. The closures are as follows:

University Dr. from 35th Ave. N. to 40th Ave. S.

10th St. from 13th Ave. S. to 19th Ave. N.

NP Ave. from University Dr. to the river

7th Ave. N. from University Dr. to the river

19th Ave. N. from University Dr. to Elm St.

The North Dakota National Guard will be assisting the Fargo Police Department at significant intersections to ensure the smooth flow of truck traffic and to block civilian traffic from using these roadways. Cross traffic will be allowed in a controlled manner.

The Fargo Police Department is requesting the assistance of the public to ensure these critical roadways are kept open to allow flood fighting efforts to continue as rapidly as possible.

At the bend in the Missouri River near Bismarck ice has started to pile up. That ice is creating even more problems as it disrupts the river’s flow. More than 1,700 people had to flee their homes as the water spilled over its banks.

To help relieve the backwater demolition companies have been blasting the ice to break them up.

ABC reports:

“We had to relieve some of the backwater, which was threatening the people and property of Bismarck,” said Eric Kelly, a member of the Advanced Explosives Demolition Inc.

While hundreds of homes in Bismarck were flooded the safety measures have saved thousands more.

Opinion: Facebook, Thanks For Letting Me Help Drug Companies

Those real-life quizzes at Facebook are a marketing ploy. The answers are helping drug makers have information from the nine million people that have signed up and quickly clicked along the test. I am one of the sheep in the masses.
The quiz has 150 or so questions that cover lifestyle and family history to give users a “biological age.” The RealAge people then offer users ways of getting the biological age younger by suggesting multivitamins, eating breakfast and flossing their teeth.

The quiz even has a huge endorsement from Dr. Mehmet Oz, a popular author and regular on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Guess who funds RealAge? Those crafty pharmaceutical companies pay the marketing company to send them the answers in an email.

That’s right kiddies, we’re all part of a marketing scheme that is helping the drug companies target the public.

But is that really so bad?

The bottom line is the quiz can give people a free way to learn how to improve their lives.

The New York Times reports:

“Our primary product is an e-mail newsletter series focused on the undiagnosed at-risk patient, so we know the risk factors if someone is prehypertensive, or for osteoarthritis,” said Andy Mikulak, the vice president for marketing at RealAge. “At the end of the day, if you want to reach males over 60 that are high blood pressure sufferers in northwest Buffalo with under $50,000 household income that also have a high risk of diabetes, you could,” he said.

The drug companies aren’t getting personal information from those who take the quiz. RealAge is the middleman. That means that drug companies are getting unbiased information.

That’s not a bad thing. Seriously, is it wrong for the drug companies to want to know the marketing information? We’re not being paid by them but we do need their knowledge when we’re sick.

Medcity.com reports that some health groups are not pleased with RealAge.

Peter Lurie, deputy director of the Health Research Group at consumer advocate Public Citizen has a problem with the way RealAge could use its patrons’ medical information.

“Literally millions of people have unknowingly signed up” for the RealAge newsletter, Lurie said. RealAge “can create a group of people, and hit them up and create anxiety even though the person does not have a diagnosis,” he told the Times.

In the end it’s a personal opinion. If you don’t want your information and thoughts given to companies by marketers don’t take online quizzes. No one is twisting your arm to click their button. You have the power to keep the marketing companies in business or not.

Welcome to the age of the Internet!

Madonna Due In Court Monday To Adopt Little Girl

Madonna is said to have given up boy toy Jesus Luz in order to adopt a little girl she’s wanted for newly two years. The singer is due to fly to Malawi this weekend to bring home the child.
Little four-year-old Mercy James is also getting ready to have a new home. The child was taken to a lodge outside Lilonwe this week to get prepared for a homecoming with Madonna.

As long as nothing goes wrong, Madonna and her new daughter will fly out of the south-east African country in a week.

Reuters is reporting that the rumors are true about Madonna adopting a little girl. The adoption may have a few hitches in it this time around.

“Our official policy is that we do not encourage our children to be sent into broken homes,” a senior official from Malawi’s Ministry of Women and Child Welfare Development said when speaking about Madonna’s adoption. “Her relationships may negatively affect the adoption of Mercy.”

Because of those feelings its been rumored that her current boy toy Jesus Luz is out the door. Madonna and Luz had been together since she spilt from former hubby Guy Ritchie.

The Daily Mail reports:

Mercy has been handed over to Madonna’s people, who are already at the lodge, and is being cared for by a nanny,’ says the source.

‘They are waiting for Madonna to arrive so mother and daughter can be united and then Madonna is expected to take Mercy with her when she leaves.’

On Monday it is expected that Madonna will be in court to formalize the adoption. The judge could say no but it is expected to go in Madonna’s favor.

There has also been harsh criticism about Madonna’s adoption plans from child advocacy and human rights groups. They think that the speedy adoption and the fast tracking allows for the celebrity to get special treatment.

Madonna has three children, Lourdes, 12, Rocco, 8, and adopted son David Banda.

Peter Julian Asks Canadians Help To Stop Colombia Free Trade Deal

Canadian Member of Parliament, Peter Julian, the NDP’s International Trade Critic is asking Canadians to help defeat a bill that would set up free trade deals with Colombia.
Earlier today Julian spoke to the house in Ottawa condemning the proposal which is is calling a “Bush-style free trade agreement”.

As journalist Michael Krachan reports:

“The Harper Government believes that the killing of trade unionists, peasants and activists by para-militaries in Colombia is just business as usual. The Uribe Colombian Government may have one of the worst human records in the world; the Harper government is pushing on with the support of Michael Ignatieff and has tabled Bill C-23, the enabling legislation of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement signed in December 2008.

This agreement should be rejected by Parliament.”

Julian told those in the House that he and the NDP is opposed to the blood that is on the agreement.

“Mr. Speaker, just last week Amnesty International condemned the Colombia authorities for abusing the country’s judicial system, “to undermine the legitimate work of human rights defenders”. More than a dozen human rights defenders and 46 trade unionists were killed by paramilitaries in 2008 alone. Double 2007. According to testimony received today at trade committee, thousands of paramilitaries with ties to the government are forcing poor peasants off the land and taking it over with the regime’s complicity. More than 1,500 peasants have been massacred so far by the Colombia military as so-called “false positives”; no less than the cold-blooded murder of innocent people. Incredibly, the Conservative government is pressing ahead with a Bush-style free trade agreement with the regime. What is more incredible is that the Leader of the Opposition is supporting this trampling of human rights in the name of powerful corporate interests. The NDP is standing on the side of millions of Canadians who oppose murder, torture and human rights abuses. We oppose the blood that is on this agreement.”

On the other side of this political coin is International Trade Minister Stockwell Day. He says that Canada needs to ratify a free trade pact with Colombia. Using the economic crisis and the fear of lost jobs Day pushed for the pact to be passed quickly.

The Winnipeg Free Press reports:

“If we don’t get parliamentary approval, opportunities will be lost for Canadians,” Day said.

“That will mean jobs can be threatened and especially at a time when we need to open doors, not close them, this would put Canadian producers and Canadian service providers and Canadian workers at a severe disadvantage.”

What is at stake is money. Lots of it. Last year alone Canada did $1.3 billion worth of two-way trade with Colombia, $2.5 billion with Peru.

While Day does note that Colombia has human rights violations he seems to think that there has been “considerable progress” made. That differs from what Amnesty International says about the paramilitary and security forces that are blamed for murdering and threatening human rights advocates and trade unionists.

“Failing to do so risks giving a green light to those who wish to attack them,” said Marcelo Pollack, from Amnesty International’s Americas Programme.

“The threats and killings that tragically marred last year’s marches must not be repeated. The legitimate right of everyone to peaceful protest must be guaranteed by the Colombian authorities,” said Marcelo Pollack.

The Bloc Quebecois is also opposed to the Colombia pact. That leaves the final decision up to the Liberals.

That may be a hard sell for the Conservatives as the Winnipeg Free Press quotes Liberal trade critic Scott Brison who has said he’s approaching the proposal with an open mind.

Still, he said it’s “completely hypocritical and inconsistent” for the Conservative government to make that argument with respect to Colombia, a relatively tiny trade market, when it has spurned doing business with China, the world’s largest market, over its violations of human rights.

Cases of Kidney Stones in US Kids Increasing

Kidney stones are one of those ailments that can come with aging. They are not generally seen in children but that may be changing as fast food diets gain more popularity.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has seen about 10 children a year with kidney stones in 2005 climb to five patients a week. John Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore had even lower rates 15 years ago of kids dealing with the painful condition. today the Baltimore center is getting cases every week.

According to a 2007 study doctors at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Medical Center has had a fivefold increase in children with kidney stones between 1994 and 2005. The study was published in the Journal of Urology.

Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill. doctor David Hatch has had a eight-month-old female patient whose mother found a pea-size kidney stone in her diaper.

While doctors are not completely sure what is causing the increase in children they are speculating that diets with too much salt is a leading problem. Excessive salt can bring forth excessive calcium in urine. As most kidney stones with children are calcium-based eating habits and not enough water is putting them at risk.

While most kidney stones main symptom is extreme pain there is the chance for kidney damage if urine flow is blocked by the stone.

Drinking plenty of water is one key way to avoid kidney stones. Children who have already had a stone are told to drink citrus juice like lemonade to help keep urine from forming new stones.

Fargo: Bad News From Forecasters, Evacuation Plans and Facebook

The news in Fargo, North Dakota tonight isn’t good. Forecasters are adding two feet to the estimated crest of the Red River. The original 41 foot crest would just stay behind sand bags. That is now sadly not the case.

With the new estimates of the river cresting at 43 feet the town is in serious danger of flooding.

Thousands of volunteers have been building a sandbag dike around North Dakota’s largest city. The dike will now have to be built even higher if the city is to remain flood free.

The National Weather Service issued the warning late Thursday that the river could crest at 43 feet up two inches from earlier predictions. The news doesn’t get better. The weather service also warns that the water levels could remain that high for as long as a week.

AP reports:

“Record flows upstream of Fargo have produced unprecedented conditions” on the river, which “is expected to behave in ways never previously observed,” the weather service said.

Governor John Hoeven is requesting an additional 500 National Guard members to join the 900 already working night and day to protect the city.

Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker was shocked with the latest weather news according to an AP report.

“Is this a wakeup call? People can’t take many more wakeup calls,” he said. But Walaker also said the forecast didn’t seem to match what he had seen in the Red’s tributaries earlier in the day.

“This is the worst-case scenario,” he said. “Right now, I’m going to stick with 41,” he said.

Thursday afternoon Mayor Walaker unveiled a contingency evacuation plan. Four nursing homes have already put their own plan in action, moving their patients out of the river’s path.

The Chronicle reports:

“A few of them said they didn’t want to go. I said I’m going where the crowd goes,” said 98-year-old Margaret “Dolly” Beaucage, who clasped rosary beads as she waited to leave Elim Care Center.

“I’m a swimmer,” she said, smiling, “but not that good a swimmer.”

The temperature isn’t helping with the dike project either. With subzero temperatures the sandbags had gotten frozen earlier this week making it more difficult to stack as tightly as they are needed to be. People have been observed slamming bags on the ground to break the sand up. Now as the people move at an even faster pace in a race against the river the sandbags don’t have time to freeze.

Walaker is taking his chances against the river. He’s hoping that Mother Nature is a kind bookie.

“I was asked for odds last night,” he said. “I would say we got a simple 3-, maybe 4-to-1 chance of beating this — and those are good odds at any race track in the United States.”

As the river rages help is coming from of all places, Facebook. Kevin Tobosa suggested the social network when city officials needed volunteers at the various dikes around Fargo. The Facebook group has over 4,550 members checking in to see where they are most needed.

MSNBC reports:

“We really need volunteers again today to get the dikes buttoned up and fill the rest of the sandbags,” read a message sent to the group Thursday.

Volunteers are using Facebook and Twitter to stay on the ball and connected as they work against the rising water.

“Oftentimes, the government Web sites and phone lines are overloaded and don’t have the capacity to answer all the queries,” said Jeannette Sutton, a University of Colorado sociologist who has researched the use of social networking in emergencies.

“A site like Facebook is so robust, it has the strength to support this kind of usage,” she said.

Medical marijuana permit holders may get more rules in Canada

If you are a medical marijuana permit holder in Ontario here’s your heads up, you may not be allowed to toke away wherever you desire.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq is asking the House of Commons to put it in writing where medical tokers are permitted to light up a joint.

Lately the federal government has been pressured to put it the legal rules around medical marijuana in writing.

The current rules came into force in 2001 with the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations doesn’t have a location policy. The only rule at the moment is like cigarettes, medical marijuana is not allowed to be smoked in an enclosed public place.

New regulations are being worked on but there is no deadline for those rules. Health Canada officials will be in charge of drawing up the regulations and then presenting them to the health minister. The Health Minister will have the final word.

There are about 2,800 people in Canada will medical marijuana permits.

7,500 GM employees to take buyout package

General Motors union employees are lining up to take a buyout package. The package will give those who signed up for it $20,000 in cash and $25,000 toward a new GM car.

About 7,500 General Motor Corp. workers have accepted a buy out meeting the internal company goals. The Detroit automaker has been pushing their unionized work force to accept buyouts, retire or quit. The company has taken a hard hit due to the recession and is unable to guarantee job security. Without older workers leaving the workforce the company doesn’t stand a chance to survive.

Most of the more than 7,500 members of the United Automobile Workers union that took the buyout will leave their positions by the first of April. Many of the employees had a difficult time deciding if they were going to take the package. They fear that GM will not survive the recession.

General Motors needs for the employees to leave to allow for new hires that earn half of the older workers salaries. It has to be able to show President Obama that it is making real progress to cut labor costs in order to receive the $16.6 billion funding they say is the only way to survive in these tough economic times.

At GM’s Janesville, Wisconsin plant 624 workers have accepted the offer, the largest group at any one facility. The plant was forced to shut down at the end of last year and is planned to close in 2010.

The Grand Rapids metal plant also had a large number of employees take the money.

The New York Times reports:

“It’s a choice between the uncertainty of staying and the uncertainty of leaving,” said Gary N. Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. “At this point, the people who are accepting buyouts have turned them down before, so something has shaken them loose. These are really the saddest decisions of all because they know they could have taken a buyout before on better terms.”

Gary L. Cowger, group vice president for global manufacturing and labor relations, said the buyouts, along with other cost-cuts would “help ensure the long-term viability and future success of General Motors.”

The offer was made available to the 62,000 hourly workers employed by General Motors. About half of those who took the buyout did so after Friday.

Most of the workers that have gone for the offer are considered retirement eligible, having at least 30 years of employment with GM. Those employees are also eligible for a $37,000 pension a year.

Shares have climbed 11 per cent in premarket trading following the news.

Obama’s half brother hospitalized over Cholera concerns

The half brother of President Barack Obama has been hospitalized from stomach pains. He is currently undergoing tests to see if he has cholera.

Malik Obama, 51, was taken to Siaya District Hospital in western Kenya on Tuesday. He should be discharged with Thursday or Friday.

There has been a cholera outbreak in the area. One of Obama’s staff, Daniel Namai, was in hospital last week because of the disease. The results of the cholera test can take up to 18 hours.

Mr. Obama is a businessman in Kenya. He was in Washington D.C. as part of his family’s delegation when President Obama was sworn in.

Obama also served as part of his brother’s wedding party.

The president has five half-brothers and a half-sister that are citizens of Kenya.

Pro-Life Groups Upset With Proposed Abortion Ads Hitting UK TV

Anti-abortion groups are attacking a plan to allow TV ads in the UK for abortion clinics. The proposal that condom commercials will be on the air prior to 9PM is also fueling their steam.

The proposals come as the UK is facing a rising teen pregnancy rate. The changes are being weighed by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee on Advertising Practice (BCAP) watchdogs.

CAP and BCAP have been reviewing the matter for the past 18 months. Sky News reports:

Chairman Andrew Brown said: “Throughout this process, we sought the views of industry and policymakers and now we want to hear from all other interested parties, including the people that matter the most in advertising, the general public.”

Pro-lifers believe that allowing the prime-time television and radio slots advertisements could lead to more promiscuity and result in higher numbers of unborn children being aborted.

At this time only Channel 4 television is allowed to run condom ads after 7:00 in the evening. That public service channel is commercially funded.

Abortion clinics are unlikely to be able to afford advert time space during prime time programming.

The Guardian reports:

“Bcap’s proposed rule on pregnancy advisory services would, in theory, allow abortion clinics to advertise,” said a Bcap spokesman. “However, as this service is normally accessed via a referral from a GP or hospital it is unlikely that we are going to start seeing ads for them.”

That announcement has other pro-life groups up in arms. John Smeaton, the national director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children is one that is speaking out. The Guardian quotes Smeaton’s take of the proposal.

“It would completely disregard the adverse effect of abortion on women’s health. Agencies with a financial interest in abortion will be in a position to buy expensive broadcast advertising, whereas groups which provide objective information about abortion and its impact on women’s health will be unlikely to afford to advertise,” Smeaton said.

“We note the proposed requirement that any group advertising counselling services for pregnant women must make clear if the group does not refer women for abortion. We will be scrutinising the Advertising Standards Authority’s proposals [the watchdog responsible for enforcing the rules] closely for any similar signs of potential discrimination against pro-life groups. The ASA already demonstrated a bias against pro-life groups when it attempted to ban advertisements which stated correctly that morning-after pills may cause early abortions.”

Not only are the Pro-Lifers against the proposal. Conservative MP Nadine Dorries calls the plan “just plain sick.”

Sky News reports that the MP wrote in her blog about the plan.

“I am quite sure that any adverts will depict smiling pretty nurses, gleaming reception areas and leafy car parks,” she wrote in her blog.

“They will not in any way show the fear, anguish, isolation, or subsequent depression.”

Some believe that by having the ads on the telly families will discuss birth control and safe sex more often.

BBC reports:

“Our advice to parents is to avoid the big ’sit down’ conversations. Seeing these adverts on TV could be the perfect way to get people talking about the issues. It could make it more normal,” says Rebecca Findlay, of the fpa, formerly the Family Planning Association.

Hilary Pannack of Straight Talking, a sex education charity, also thinks that the ads could bring more awareness to the teen pregnancy issue. She is also concerned that some may turn off their TV sets when the ads come on.

The BBC quotes Pannack who also warns that the advertising has to be designed in a way that abortions are not promoted as an alternative to birth control;

“We really have to tackle the underlying cause of the high teenage pregnancy rates. It is to do with self-esteem and self-respect.

“Young girls too often feel pressurised to have sex without protection.

“To change this we need better education in schools and better social mobility.

“Too many young people do not feel they have real opportunities in life that would encourage them to make sure they do not get pregnant.”

Other proposed changes include banning ads for age-restricted video games during children’s programming and shows that target young viewers.

A 12-week consultation will close about the changes for advertising on June 19. The new advert codes will come into play on televisions in 2010.

Ready for another urban legend you know a man thought up!

Men Cheer- Regular Fellatio May Reduce Breast Cancer

Here’s a way to perfect breast cancer that our men are going to want to help with. A North Carolina State University study says that women who perform fellatio once or twice a week can reduce their risk of the disease by up to 40 percent.
The study followed 15,000 women suspected of performing fellatio and swallowing the ejaculatory fluid for ten years. The researchers found that they had a lower occurrence of breast cancer than those who abstained.

CNN reports:

“I think it removes the last shade of doubt that fellatio is actually a healthy act,” said Dr. A.J. Kramer of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, who was not involved in the research. “I am surprised by these findings, but am also excited that the researchers may have discovered a relatively easy way to lower the occurrence of breast cancer in women.”

The study was published in the Journal of Medical Research.

The study was made up of two groups aged 25 to 45. the first group of 6,246 women performed the sex act on a regular basis for five to ten years and the other group of 9,728 was composed of women that did not or did not shallow. Those who shallowed had a cancer rate of 1.9 percent compared to the other group cancer rate of 10.4 percent.

Viewers Can Get Ready To View Repeats as CBC Slashes 800 Jobs

Today CBC staffers are awaiting word if they will be given a pink slip. The Canadian media giant will be cutting 800 jobs in light of government cuts to their budget. Later today staff throughout Canada will learn their fate.

CBC viewers will see shorter seasons for their favorite Canadian series like Little Mosque on the Prairie and The Border and plenty of repeats. New Canadian programs have been pushed back until next year.

The pink slips are expected to be given out at in late May and continue throughout the summer. The rumor mill is saying that the cuts may be to smaller regional CBC stations.

An unnamed source from the CBC said during a phone interview that for now the Internet media staff is safe from the 800 jobs that will be slashed at the CBC. According to the source the Internet is one of the few areas of the CBC that is growing.

The staff has heard rumbling for weeks that the job cuts were going to come because of the CBC not meeting their advertising quotas and the government not handing over their financial goals.

The CBC’s working budget comes from the government and advertising monies. When the advertising revenue falls short the government is expected to help out more. That is not the case this time around.

The CBC receives $1.1 billion a year in federal funding, about 60 per cent of its running costs, and, for the past decade, an additional $60 million annually in special transfer payments, or 5.6 per cent of the broadcaster’s annual budget.

The cuts will be divided between English CBC will 396 jobs to slash, French Radio-Canada will be slashing 336 jobs and 70 corporate positions are also slated to be cut according to CBC president Hubert Lacroix.

The Edmonton Sun reports:

The NDP blasted the Harper government for “using the pretext of the economic downturn to attack the public broadcaster” and accused it of being “fundamentally opposed” to the CBC.

Not only are pink slips being handed out but the CBC is having to liquidating assets. The sale from those assets are hoped to gain $125 million.

The union that represents CBC employees are putting total blame on the Harper government. They insist that the job cuts will affect the quality of programming for the Canadian public.

CJAD reports:

“Those services are very important even in the period we are facing now, because if the private producers cannot do this, who will do this if we don’t do it?,” said union president Alex Levasseur.

Lavasseur further stated that the government’s shortfall of $171 million is a disguise aiming to strangle the public broadcaster.

The man many have blamed the cuts on Canada’s PM Stephen Harper was quoted by The Toronto Star expressing concern.

“Obviously, broadcasters, both public and private, are having difficulties. It is a terrible thing when someone loses a job. We will obviously be monitoring the decisions of the board very carefully to make sure that it respects CBC’s mandate and treats its employees fairly,” Harper told the Commons.

The Edmonton Sun reports:

“People have to realize that the privates are also subsidized,” said Kirstine Layfield, CBC’s executive director of programming.

“For as much as we (CBC) are government subsidized, the privates also have a high level of government subsidy … and that money doesn’t always go to programming, it goes to their shareholders.”

Reporter George Weber Stabbed To Death in NYC, Teen Arrested

Reporter George Weber was killed over the weekend. With the arrest of a suspect a tale of violent sex and the Internet is emerging.

A teenage suspect has been arrested for stabbing radio reporter George Weber 50 times. He had met the journalist through the Internet site Craig’s List.

An ad had been placed on the site by Weber looking for ‘rough sex.’ The 16-year-old who answered it confessed to killing Weber on Tuesday evening. The suspect says that he went to Weber’s apartment to make $60 for rough sex.

Friday night Weber’s neighbours had seen the well liked man pacing in front of his building and holding a conversation on his cell phone. That was the last time he was seen alive.

The New York Daily News reports:

“He and Weber met online sometime last week and had arranged to meet,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. “There was going to be an exchange of money.”

The teen almost was arrested this weekend for the murder. After allegedly stabbing Weber late Friday evening he fled the scene wearing some of his victim’s clothing. A G train conductor saw his hand was bleeding and called the police. The suspect told the police that he had cut his hand on a bottle when he was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center. They had no idea a suspected murderer was in their midst.

It would be two more days before Weber’s body would be found.

After having his hand bandaged the youth fled to Middletown in upstate New York. He had hoped to hide out at a friend’s home.

When the suspect was arrived late Tuesday night he was still wearing George Weber’s clothing. In his possession was a dagger but it was not the murder weapon.

On Sunday morning he has found stabbed to death in his apartment. Wounds on his hands show that he had tried to fight back as he was being stabbed to death.

It’s unclear if George Weber knew what he was getting himself into. Had he checked the suspect’s MySpace page he would have seen a young man who called himself “Extremist, an Anarchist, a Sadomasochist” and said he enjoyed “long conversations, drinking, bike riding, hanging out.” He would have also read a warning: “If you disrespect me then I will f—–g break your neck.”

The suspect, John Katehis, 16, was charged as an adult with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon at an arraignment held Wednesday evening. He is being held without bail.

CBS 4 reports:

“Maybe he didn’t know he was 16 because on the internet you don’t always know the age,” said neighbor Therea Muscianesi. “It’s very sad for everyone.”

“It’s someone he brought here. I’m just relieved it’s not a crazy person here in the neighborhood,” said neighbor Laura Bloom.

A memorial service for Mr. Weber was held Wednesday evening at his home. Friends and family had gone beforehand to the pub Angry Wade’s to toast their loved one.

Rising From The Ashes, Owen Thor Walker

Last year Owen Thor Walker was arrested after being investigated by authorities in the United States, Europe and New Zealand for his hacking skills. He was a mere sixteen when he wrote the software that stole millions.

A year later Walker has been hired by TelstraClear to advise corporate customers on Internet crime. His new job will see the young man presenting seminars and adverstising for Telstra’s New Zealand based TelstraClear as well as addressing security issues that may come up with company management.

As a hacker Walker was known by the screen name ‘Akill.’ His program enabled the cyber-gang to use their botnets to steal from private bank accounts. Investigators have said that his was the most advanced software code they had ever encountered.

After pleading guilty to six cyber crimes Walker admitted to stealing at least $20.4 million from private bank accounts. He didn’t take the money himself rather he crafted the software that gave a cyber-ring the ability to access usernames, passwords and credit card details.

Walker had to pay $10,000 in damages. He was discharged from conviction because he has a form of autism, Asperger’s Syndrome. Somehow Walker left all of the legal troubles without a record.

He has been hailed as a genius. Now Walker is nineteen and posed to take TelstraClear by storm.

Stuff.co reports:

“We found him pleasant to deal with and he genuinely wanted to help New Zealand businesses by sharing experiences,” said TelstraClear spokesman Chris Mirams

Mr. Walker will not have access to the computers in the TelstraClear network.

Walker has said that he wants to be as big as Bill Gates when he grows up.

A Song For Peace

On Wednesday a group of teenagers performed for a special audience. They begin with We Sing for Peace for their elderly audience who looked on smiling.

what makes this concert special was the choir was made up of teens from the West Bank and their audience was made up of Holocaust survivors.

The enemy sang for the enemy. Only this time there were no enemies. Only songs of peace.

The thirteen children aged 11 to 18 had no idea who their audience was. They belong to Strings of Freedom. The orchestra was put together in Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.

The adults in the audience also were unaware that the children that were entertaining them were Palestinian.

The choir was formed seven years ago to help the children overcome war trauma.

War trauma is something both groups understand.

The group was even late for the event because of the war. They were held up for thirty minutes at a military check point just outside the town they live in.

The event took place in the Holocaust Survivors Centre at Holon, Israel on “Good Deeds Day.” The yearly event was started by billionaire Shari Arison, Israel’s richest woman.

The New Zealand Herald reports:

“I feel sympathy for them,” said Ali Zeid, an 18-year-old keyboard player who said he was shocked by what he learned about the Holocaust, in which the Nazis killed 6 million Jews in their campaign to wipe out European Jewry.

“Only people who have been through suffering understand each other,” said Zeid, who said his grandparents were Palestinian refugees forced to flee the northern city of Haifa during the war that followed Israel’s creation in 1948.

The drug companies, stigmas and realities of HIV in India

In March 2005 India passed a bill to recognize and protect global patents in order to join the World Trade Organization.

“It is a sad irony that India is one of the biggest producers of the drugs that have transformed the lives of people with AIDS in wealthy countries. But for millions of Indians, access to these medicines is a distant dream” Joanne Csete, Director of the HIV/AIDS programme at Human Rights Watch.

The bill was an effort so that India could be able to provide generic drugs to the world. India’s generic drug trade is able to keep prices at a low level and under what is being charged by multinational pharmaceutical companies.

The media covered this bill with a business angle and failed for the most part to delve into the potentially devastating impact of the new rule on vulnerable populations.

Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission Journalist Sandeep Junnarkar and photographer Srinivas Kuruganti set out to document the lives of families that struggle to buy ARV (anti-retroviral) drugs in order to keep a family member healthy. They used audio recorders, photographs and video to show the world the challenges of AIDS patients deal with in India. These people are stigmatized and often unable to make enough money to buy the lifesaving drugs that their own country mass produces. The Lives in Focus Project Inc. is a non-profit media company that represents the voices of the forgotten. The company is based out of New York. As India entered the World Trade Organization their own people with HIV were to become the victims. Because of product patents the drug companies in India those living with the disease will be the most affected.

Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission This project looks at the effect of industrial pollution on the health of local communities in the Patancheru district of Andhra Pradesh and Ankleshwar, Gujarat where over 3000 chemical, pharmaceutical and dye factories release an alarming level of toxic waste into air, ground water and agricultural land. Alternate Law Forum reports that the Patent (3rd Amendment) Bill will affect those who need ARV the most. The fact is that while people who suffer from HIV AIDS are those who will be most directly affected by the amendment, the larger issue is the coming into place of a regime of product patents which signals a radical shift in the ability of pharmaceutical companies to reverse engineer drugs and make them available at lower prices. This is a much larger issue that cuts across all diseases and will become as much of a problem for other ailments as it is for HIV AIDS. As India becomes known at the ‘pharmacy of the developing world’ it has worked laws to make it to their advantage. Biz Community.com reports: “In many ways, India’s patent law is very progressive,” commented Jonathan Berger, a senior researcher at the AIDS Law Project, an organisation that fights for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. “It is the only country that has taken advantage of flexibilities in TRIPS; the real question is, why haven’t other countries done the same?” In India there are presently about 6 million people dealing with HIV. Most of those living with HIV reside in rural areas. With the huge pharmaceutical industry in India it would make sense that the citizens would have the best and latest medicines. That is not always the case however. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated in 2003 that nearly seven percent of AIDS patients in India acquired the virus through a blood transfusion. Those patients are often turned away from health care. WHO has found that unpaid donors are more likely than paid donors to provide safe and sustainable blood supply because they are less likely to lie about their health status and are also more likely to keep themselves healthy. In India HIV is associated with behaviors such as homosexuality, drug addiction, prostitution or promiscuity, behaviours that often result in shunning. Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission High risk behaviors can lead to HIV. A study by the International Center for Research on Women found that the stigmatization that Indians face is part of the problem. As Kangla Online reports: “The epidemic of fear, stigmatization and discrimination has undermined the ability of individuals, families and societies to protect themselves and provide support and reassurance to those affected. This hinders, in no small way, efforts at stemming the epidemic. It complicates decisions about testing, disclosure of status, and ability to negotiate prevention behaviors, including use of family planning services.” Dola Mohapatra, Asia Regional Director for Christian Children’s Fund, talked with Everyday Christian’s Peter Elliot about the challenges India faces with HIV/AIDS. Mohapatra stated that India is a time bomb when it comes to HIV and could in fact quickly overtake Africa’s patient counts in the future. In the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka the virus is at a pandemic stage. The most difficult problem in India is health care access, both in diagnosing and in then treating patients with the proper ARV drugs. While there are local pharmaceutical companies in India with more reasonably priced medications than the United States they are not available nationwide. In some areas the government has taken the lead and provides those who are sick with HIV free medication. India as a nation is trying to combat the stigmas that hit those with HIV. They are now running ads on television to say that it’s safe to touch something who has the virus and to provide assistance to them. Mohapatha said, “All CCF projects are involved in the “Linked Worker Scheme,” (LWS) where we train community level workers to provide counseling, care and support to AIDS-affected families and link them with health services. With the help of local governments and partners we provide ARV drugs to families and work with local youth groups in prevention efforts for contracting HIV/AIDS.” India faces HIV problems in every aspect, including their military. The first HIV-positive Assam Rifles soldier was detected in 1992. By 2005 32 soldiers had died of AIDS and another 180 were in serious condition from the virus. Health Dev.com reports: “The time has come to wake up with HIV infection among our troops assuming serious dimensions. Now we find more soldiers dying to HIV- AIDS than to bullets fired by militants,” Lieutenant General Bhopinder Singh, Director General of Assam Rifles, said in Meghalaya state capital Shillong on Friday. “We have a challenge at hand and we need to tackle it sensitively,” he told AFP at the force headquarters. Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission As India struggles to cope with the HIV/AIDS epidemic their health care still has issues with the stigmas that comes from the disease. Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission HIV patient in India The PGI is still turning people away in India. Times of India reports: After testing positive at a hospital in Patiala, the couple was shown the way to PGI for hope. “When we came here, doctors turned us away saying that our nearest anti-retroviral therapy centre was in Patiala’s Rajindra Medical College and, therefore, we should go there,” said a disheartened Sukhpal Singh, 38. Vineeta Gupta, the director of State AIDS Control Organisation discussed with Times of India the issue. Sensing the gravity of the issue, the director added, “Patients can forward their complaints to our grievance cell that was formed recently to address such issues and more.” On the defensive, PGI denied the allegations. “The patients have been asked to attend OPD for treatment and their tests will follow,” said Manju Wadwalkar, PGI’s official spokesperson. Whether or not any damage control follows remains to be seen at the institute that caters to patients from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission That incident though is in violation of the nation’s policy. The Supreme Court panel consisting of f Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, as well as Justices Ashok Bhan and P. Sathasivam has ruled that all of India’s states must treat people with HIV/AIDS “in a professional manner, treating them always with dignity and care” and with “no discrimination of stigma whatsoever.” Medical care is not to be denied to those dealing with the virus. Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission HIV in India All photography was provided by Srinivas Kuruganti. His work highlights those in India facing life with HIV/AIDS. He should be commended for bringing a face to the plight. I would also like to thank journalist Sandeep Junnarkar for his work on the photo project with Mr. Kuruganti. Thank you.

Fargo Residents Work Into The Night To Fight Back Flood Waters

In Fargo, North Dakota residents are busy tonight filling sand bags and building temporary dikes in an effort to brace for expected flooding.

Army trucks are driving down along the Red River with more sand bags as teams of volunteers work into the dark night.

The streets of Fargo are lined with residents tonight together in a ballet of motion to fight back the Red River. Many remember the flood of 1997 and exchange tales of the time when tens of thousands had to run for their lives in in North Dakota, Minnesota and southern Canada. Eleven people didn’t make it out alive and property damage totaled $4.1 billion.

Mark McCourt Fargosandbagsflood1997.jpg Sandbags holding back flood waters from a neighborhood. The homes in the nearby neighborhood were protected by this effort. (GNU Free Documentation License) JoAnn Grey recounted the 1977 flood to AP: “In ‘97, I had three kids in diapers,” and had to leave as floodwaters approached. This time, her family, friends, and neighbors filled sandbags until midnight, with her children doing some of the work. Students have been released from classes since Monday to help fill the nearly two million sand bags that are needed. That means the residents have to fill around 500,000 bags a day until Saturday if the dike is to be high enough. On Monday Fargo city administrator Pat Zavoral estimated that Fargo was about 40 percent protected. This year as spring rains have hammered down the river has swollen to epic proportions. Red River is expected to crest in Fargo late Friday. The Inquirer reports: “People are starting to realize how serious this situation is,” said Kyle Lunke, a student at North Dakota State University. “Everybody counts in these times. We’d like to think they’d be there for us.” North Dakota is already dealing with high waters in other areas. People caught in their homes are having to be air lifted out to safety. As the Red River flows towards Canada North Dakota and Minnesota are being threatened by the mighty river. Down river there is good news for those in Breckenridge, Minn. as the waters were down to 18 feet on Wednesday morning. That kind of news fuels hope in Fargo. But the reality is that the river on Tuesday was at 30.5 feet, five feet higher than Monday morning. The dike being built in the downtown will be 42 feet. Tuesday weather forecasts put the Red River between 39 and 41 feet by Saturday morning. Pat Slattery of the National Weather Service warns: “You will have an extremely wide river,” said Slattery, who said a stretch of waterway that now measures 100 yards wide “might turn into a mile to a mile-and-a-half.” “It’s very hard to get this stuff to run off,” he added. “Your soil up there is totally saturated.” Mark McCourt (GNU Free Documentation License) Fargofloodprotectionwater1997.jpg Completed floodwall and sandbag dikes near several homes. The homes in the nearby neighborhood were protected by this effort. As the residents prepare for the rising waters Verizon Wireless is also working hard to get ready for the possible disaster. This week they have added 25 per cent more capacity to individual cell sites as needed in areas where consumers are increasing usage of the network. Verizon is also filling up sandbags. They have 2,000 ready for their needs. Four cell sites have been sandbagged at this time. They are hoping that by having pre-positioned portable cell sites known as Cells on Wheels (COWS) and a Cells on Light Truck (COLTS), and generators on trailers (GOaTS) that can be rolled into hard-hit locations or areas that need extra network capacity that anyone in trouble will be able to call out for help. PRN Newswire reports: “As we’ve seen in past storm seasons, wireless communication is crucial during an emergency,” said Nancy Clark, president–Great Plains Region, Verizon Wireless. “It is important that we implement a comprehensive plan to make sure the network stays strong and calls go through when and where they’re needed most.”

Lady Liberty’s Crown May Reopen By July 4th

On 9/11 the crown of the Statue of Liberty was sealed away from the public. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday that Lady Liberty may be welcoming visitors back to her crown by July 4th.

The statue was closed after the 9/11 attacks in New York because of safety concerns. In 2004 the base of the Statue of Liberty was reopened along with the museum gallery and observation deck on the base. That was as far as the public was allowed to venture.

Reuters reports:

“We will endeavor to do everything we can,” Salazar told Reuters in an interview of the likelihood of reopening the crown at the top by July 4. “We may have it opened up to a smaller group of people.”

Since the attacks in New York visits to the Statue of Liberty have fallen off. Now years later the numbers are beginning to climb along. In 2000 3.6 million people ventured the ferry to the island to get up close and personal with Lady Liberty. In 2006 only 2.5 million people crossed the waterway but by 2007 3.2 million people went to Liberty Island in New York Harbor to tour the statue.

Lady Liberty was given to the United States in 1886 by the French. The Lady’s formal name is Liberty Enlightening the World sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi.

Salazar has to wait until an April 15 security assessment before final plans will be announced. One of the safety concerns has been that if an emergency were to happen there is no quick means of escape.

TVNZ quotes Salazar:

“If you put several hundred people in there and there is some kind of event, lots of people could be killed very quickly,” Salazar said.

To visit the Statue of Liberty there is no fee. However to get to Lady Liberty you must take a ferry to either Liberty Island or Ellis Island.

The fees for the Ellis Island Ferry system are:

$12.00 – Ages 13+ – Day
$10.00- Seniors 62 and over – Day
$5.00- Children 4-12. – Day

The statue is part of the National Parks. Both Liberty and Ellis Island are open very day except for Christmas. The current hours are from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. The first ferry leaves for the islands at 8:30 AM. It is suggested that if you want to tour both islands to leave the mainland by 1PM.

Rooftop Design a Mystery to Father For a Year

A year or so ago Rory McInnes, 18, decided to paint a large object on the roof of his family’s estate. In fact the young artist used white paint for a 60-foot penis to grace the manor.

McInnes of Hungerford, Berk may not be his father’s favorite child at the moment. The giant phallus stayed on the home’s roof until a helicopter spotted it and called the local newspaper.

Rory decided to do the art work after watching a documentary about Google Earth. He figured that a giant willy would help his parent’s £1million house stand out. After all Mum and Dad had just gotten the builders to finish up the perfect canvas, a flat roof.

The Sun rang up Andy McInnes, 54, to ask him about his rooftop decoration.

The Telegraph reports:

“It’s an April Fool’s joke, right? There’s no way there’s a 60ft phallus on top of my house.”

After talking to his four children Rory came clean. The lad is safe since his dad had to call him long distance in Brazil on a gap year.

Rory is safe for now but when he returns home his father has something special waiting for him. As his Mum told the Sun.

Rory’s mum Clare, 49, said: “We don’t want any more children, so the idea of sleeping under a giant fertility symbol is rather worrying.”

Andy added: “We don’t want to lie in bed at night and hear couples at it above us.

“When Rory gets home he will be given a scrubbing brush and white spirit and he can go and scrub it off.”

New Doctors in Canada May Screw up Thanks to Medical Dramas

The Alberta doctors were stumped. They were watching countless medical students and residents intubations being performed wrong. When they asked the younger generation what was up they were shocked. The kids had learned their technique on ER.

The older doctors began to study the shows that the younger generation was using as a part of their out of school education. Their findings were just written up in the journal Resuscitation.

The findings revive the television age old debate of if medical dramas have an obligation to portray the medical skill correctly. Can those inaccurate portrayals be held accountable for what is now being seen as chronic flaws in training Canada’s newest physicians?

Global TV reports:

“We were a bit shocked,” said Dr. Peter Brindley, the critical-care specialist at the University of Alberta Hospital who discovered the students’ extra-curricular secret. “The important lesson here is that we can’t leave medical education to chance alone.”

The report started after Dr. Brindley and his colleague Dr. Craig Needham watched students often were positioning the head of those that they were tubing incorrectly.

This was a huge problem because it could result in a life or death outcome.

The two doctors started to survey 80 students and residents. They found that most of those they questioned learned the procedure from “trial and error” and that many had picked up tips while watching TV doctors.

The most cited show was ER. Brindley and Needham analyzed a season of the show and found that in the 22 intubations that were filmed each one had the wrong head position on the screen.

Those findings and the reality that most medical students learn about tubing a patient in a lecture hall before ‘trying it out’ on a real live patient may them take stock. The “see one, do one, teach one” way to medical knowledge isn’t always going to win. Dr. Brindley is promoting the use of simulators to help educate medical students. Using the computer assisted dummies would give students real life practice before they try their skills out on a real life breathing person.

Opinion: Insurance and Employment In The United States

At one time having a job meant that a US citizen had insurance coverage. That was before the recession. Today businesses are cutting any extra cost that they can. That includes offering their workers medical coverage.

The American working class’s tax dollar pays for government health programs. Sadly they don’t always benefit when it comes to coverage for themselves and their families. To get federal medical insurance an individual has to either work for the government or be ‘poor enough.’ If one is working they have eased out of the poor enough equation.

A study for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that almost 1 out of every 5 workers have no insurance. Chances are their children are insured, nearly 90 percent of American children have one form of insurance. They also don’t have to worry about their elderly parents since if their parents worked at all they are covered. The workers only have to worry about their own medical needs.

It all comes down to cost. Employers are just making ends met and insurance companies are upping their fees. Premiums for employer plans have risen six to eight times faster than raises.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

“The thing I think is interesting is how many workers are newly uninsured,” said Lynn Blewett, director of the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota, which conducted the research. “In the last couple of years we’ve seen a deterioration of private health insurance.”

Instead of being able to pay for their own insurance American workers are paying to cover others with their tax dollars. Medicare is supported by payroll taxes. The poor and children get their doctor visits covered by Medicaid or state insurance programs. Those are funded by the tax dollars coming out of each and every pay check.

Ten years ago eight states had twenty percent of their working population facing life without medical coverage. Today that is the figure in fourteen states; Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, and Texas.

Boston.com reports:

“I don’t think we can delay action beyond this year,” said Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which sponsored the study and provides extensive financing for health care research. “It’s clear that we are at the brink.”

The Obama administration is already having to scramble to get support from the government to overhaul health care during the hard times of this recession. The estimated cost to do so is about $1.5 trillion dollars over a ten year period. The ones that will have to make the decision though don’t have the worry of insurance for their families.

They are in the government and have health insurance because of that.

Guess who helps cover the cost of their doctor pit stops?

That’s right America, the working class who can’t afford to go to the doctor themselves.

Tristan Anderson Fighting For His Life After Israeli Attack

*warning video is very graphic

Tristan Anderson’s parents are demanding that a full investigation be launched by Israel on why their son is fighting for his life.

On March 13 Anderson was shot in the head with a tear gas canister round at a Arab-Jewish demonstration at the West Bank village of Ni’lin. The American peace activist was with three or four other activists when the attack took place. The canister that was fired has a range of more than 400 metres. It was fired from a mere 60 metres at Mr. Anderson. Those with him at the time say that he was not involved with the main protest.

Tristan was shot by the new tear-gas canisters that can be shot up to 500m. I ran over as I saw someone had been shot, while the Israeli forces continued to fire tear-gas at us. When an ambulance came, the Israeli soldiers refused to allow the ambulance through the checkpoint just outside the village. After 5 minutes of arguing with the soldiers, the ambulance passed.

– Teah Lunqvist (Sweden) – International Solidarity Movement

Anderson is lucky to be alive at all. The canister caused a multiple fracture to his skull, severe injury to the frontal lobe of his brain, and a collapsed eye socket. Anderson has already underwent three operations. One of those surgeries involved removal of portions of his frontal lobe. He remains in critical condition in a medically induced coma at Israeli hospital Tel Hashomer.

Nancy Anderson, mother of the 37-year-old man, flew from California with her husband Michael to be with her child.

The Independent reports:

“We want the Israeli government to publicly take full responsibility for the shooting of our son,” she said.

“I don’t carry any negative feelings towards the soldier who shot our son. All I feel is love for Tristan and fear for his recovery.”

Anderson works seasonally with a trade union in Oakland, California setting up conventions. This was his first time to Israel where he was vacationing with his girlfriend.

In the past Anderson has taken part in peace demonstrations in Iraq before the US invasion in 2003, and in El Salvador and Guatemala. At the time of the incident Anderson was involved with the International Solidarity Movement, a group that brings internationals to the Palestine to support nonviolent resistance against the Occupation. In the past when international figures are present the military is less likely to use lethal force against unarmed protesters.

Michael Anderson said that his son was curious about the root of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to the Guardian:

“Tristan has always been interested in how societies that go through conflict are able to resolve their issues,” said his father. “He came to understand for himself what the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was about. It is ironic that the country in which he was shot is a democracy where it is supposed to be a duty for everyone to follow their conscience. We want to know the truth of what happened and we want justice for our son.”

According to Jonathon Pollack, an activist with the Israeli “Anarchists against the Wall” organisation, the incident took place about a kilometer away after demonstrators had started to leave. In the early portions of the protest it is true stones were thrown but Anderson was not among those being aggressive.

The Israeli military has said that some 400 rioters had thrown a “a massive number of rocks” at the troops. They also state that the protesters threw firebombs and directed burning tyres at the forces. They went on to say that during 2008 73 personnel were injured at or near Ni’lin.

The Guardian reports:

“Israel regrets that the Israeli and foreign nationals co-operate with violent rioters against the building of the security fence, whose purpose is saving the lives of Israeli citizens,” it said. “As such, any Israeli, Palestinian, or foreign national who illegally participates in a violent demonstration takes upon himself the risk of personal harm during the dispersal of these disturbances.”

Press TV says that Israel has offered no sympathy for the Anderson family and in fact have blamed Anderson for participating in the demonstrations as the cause of his injuries.

Attorney Michael Sfard, working for the Anderson family understands that it is doubtful that an investigation will yield a result. He stated that 90 to 92 percent of all launched investigations do not have a result in Israel. Since 2000 only four out of 110-120 court cases have lead to an indictment. Only one lead to a conviction. That conviction was an Arab-Israeli soldier who killed British peace activist Tom Hurndall in Gaza.

ThinkFirst Canada and Aviva Canada Working To Stop TBI In Kids

In Canada minors make up 17 percent of the population yet they account for 30 percent of traumatic brain injuries. On March 24 ThinkFirst Canada and Aviva Canada will be hosting an event to educate students how to not become a statistic.

On March 24 Dr. Charles Tator along with ThinkFirst Canada and Aviva Canada will be hosting an event to help educate elementary students on how to prevent brain and spinal cord injuries.

Injuries that kill or cause serious lingering injuries are almost always preventable. In fact some statistics show that 95% of those injuries could have been prevented. ThinkFirst’s goal is to change the numbers up so that those 95% are at a zero percentage.

ThinkFirst began in 1992 when Dr. Charles Tater envisioned a future free of traumatic brain and spinal injuries among children and youth. Using education as a means to change behaviours about risk taking ThinkFirst is working to achieve this goal.

Every year 390 children die and 25,500 are sent to hospital because of injuries. Many of the 100 people that die as a result of a bicycle accident are under the age of 15. When a bike helmet is worn 85% of the time head and brain injuries can be prevented.

Dr. Tator is a Professor in the Department of Surgery at The University of Toronto. He has worked at some of Toronto’s best hospitals as part of their Neurosurgical Staff including The Toronto Western Hospital where from 1985-1988 he was Neurosurgeon-in-Chief. He then moved on to a ten year term as Chairman of the Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto in 1989.

This year ThinkFirst and Aviva Canada will be expanding a program begun called Aviva Brain Day. Last year the program set for grade 5 and 6 students reached almost 6000 elementary students in more than 200 classrooms in 9 cities across Canada.

One of the programs that ThinkFirst has worked on is getting more sports helmets on the heads of kids. From Thunder Bay to Windor more than 4500 helmets have been handed out with with MHP-ThinkFirst Ontario Safe Sport Helmet Initiative. The final phase of this program will be handing out more than 6,000 vouchers for helmets to Ontarian children in need. By contacting your local Public Health Unit parents can find out if they qualify for a voucher.

In 2006 Aviva chose ThinkFirst Foundation Canada as its first signature charity.

Brain damage in children is difficult at times to measure. With adults there are records such as prior academic records, I.Q. scores, and job histories that give a clue to how well a person functioned. With children there often aren’t tools to gauge.

Because of their age some neurological deficits that result from head trauma aren’t manifested until years later. Consider frontal lobe functions which develop later in a child’s growth. These functions control social interactions and interpersonal skills. These skills don’t come into play until school age.

Recent studies have shown that a child’s skull is only 1/8 as strong as an adults making the young more vulnerable to injuries. For this reason alone prevention is key.

Opinion: Greg Gutfeld Issues Apology To Canada

In the wake of this weekend’s airing of Fox New’s Red Eye television show insulting the Canadian military host Greg Gutfeld issues an apology.

Canada was not happy with a recent airing of [i]Red Eye[/i] The show averages 285,000 viewers for it’s 3 a.m. time slot. Citizens and public figures let it be known that insulting the Canadian military is not acceptable. The day prior to the airing four soldiers had lost their lives in Afghanistan. Last month in Ottawa President Barack Obama praised Canada for making Afghanistan its largest foreign aid recipient.

The Canadian Press reports:

“However, I realize that my words may have been misunderstood,” Gutfeld said in a statement released by Fox News.

“It was not my intent to disrespect the brave men, women and families of the Canadian military, and for that I apologize.

“Red Eye is a satirical take on the news, in which all topics are addressed in a lighthearted, humorous and ridiculous manner.”

One of those who was livid at the airing was Defense Minister Peter MacKay. He took a few minutes this morning to talk to the media about his anger before leaving Ottawa for Canadian Forces Base Trenton. He will be attending the homecoming ceremony for four soldiers that lost their lives on Friday in Afghanistan.

The Canadian Press reports:

“These are despicable, hurtful and ignorant comments,” said Dan Dugas, a spokesman for MacKay.

“I think that so-called comedian should stare in the camera at his first opportunity and apologize to all of the families of people he’s hurt with these despicable comments.

“And he’s got to say, ‘I was misinformed. I was ignorant of the truth and the contribution of the Canadian Forces to the war on terror, and I want to take it back. I know as a comedian that I can fail sometimes; I failed miserably at this so-called comedy.’

“And his panelists should say the same.”

Joe Warmington, a columnist for the Toronto Sun shared the anger that many other Canadians have from the broadcast.

Will Fox see today that nothing will stand in the way of Canada’s kind of pride? Will they own up to their nonsense and run pictures of the hearses on Highway of Heroes today and of all of the Canadian flags on the bridges or down at the Last Turn at the Ontario Coroner’s office?

Rick Mercer is another who was not impressed by the Fox show. Mercer’s inbox was filled by fans about the airing The Globe and Mail reports.

“If you’re going to do satire, three of the most important rules are you have to tell the truth, you can’t be a bully and don’t be an asshole,” said Mr. Mercer, who hosts his own show on CBC. “Being a bully is not satire.”

Columnist David Frum is another not pleased with the clip according to CBC.

“The clip in question is a sequence of goofs about the feebleness, uselessness and absurdity of the Canadian armed forces. Why would I call that dumb? Here’s why,” Frum wrote on his New Majority.com blog last week, before listing the Canadian soldiers, aid workers and a diplomat who have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002.

“Sorry I disrespected your show, Red Eye fans, but you disrespected the dead,” Frum added

Canadians are often the butt of jokes and will laugh along with them. It’s funny to hear the stereotypes that have come from down under the border. The outrage over this airing has noting to do with having a sense of humour. It has to do with disrespect of a proud people who are fighting and dying for freedom.

While some have said that Canadians should ’suck it up’ there is no humour in the deaths of military personnel. There is a line that not even ‘Midol’ can ease.

Michigan’s Ann Arbor News Will Soon Only Be On The Web

Ann Arbor News survived for 174 years before the recession. It will be shutting down in July. After the last print edition hits the stands folks will have to log on to their computers for the latest news.

In July the printing presses will stop running at the Ann Arbor News. In their place will be a community news operation that takes place on the Web. AnnArbor.com is planning to have a print edition twice a week but not the same format that is currently offered to their patrons.

The Ann Arbor News employees about 200 people. Most of those will be in the unemployment lines.

The Huffington Post reports:

“The Ann Arbor News was struggling as a daily print newspaper, with steep losses in 2008,” said Champion, who will be executive vice president of AnnArbor.com LLC. “At the same time the demand for local news and information in a wired community has never been stronger.”

The announcement was made on Monday by the Newhouse family’s Advance Publications.

In addition The Flint Journal, The Bay City Times and The Saginaw News will be cutting their daily print editions down to three days a week.

Advance will freeze pension plans at almost all of its 26 newspapers across the nation. Instead of a pension plan employees will have an increased amount added to their 401(k) retirement plans.

Employees will also be taking more time off each year without pay. It will be mandatory that staff take 10 unpaid days a year off.

The Huffington Post reports:

“When we looked at Ann Arbor, we saw a very special place. It’s unusually tech-savvy and a community that’s passionate about everything that’s going on,” Newhouse told The Associated Press. “At the same time, the daily print format was facing growing losses. We were at a crossroads.”

The paper is now turning to the community to help their web site grow. A community forum will take place on April 2 at the Campus Inn to get community input on the new web site with a second forum taking place on April 3 at 10 a.m. at Weber’s Inn.

At Michigan’s largest chain paper, The Grand Rapids Press times are hard also. With 310,000 daily readers the paper is having to cut costs to continue to provide the news. Salaries are being slashed and health care insurance is costing the staff more.

Detroit News reports:

“Even with a reduced number of pages, which reflects the economy’s impact on advertising, we believe putting a print edition on newsstands and into homes is still of significant value,” Booth Michigan CEO Dan Gaydou said in a press release Monday.

The paper is also having to reduce other key operational costs by centralizing the accounting, technical services, advertising productions, editing and some customer call center departments.

Last week Detroit-based Crain Communications Inc.announced that salaries would be shrinking for its staff that has survived the pink slip by 10 percent. Four of their publications, Automotive News Europe, Business Insurance Europe, Wireless News and FinancialWeek.com have already been put to sleep.

Opinion: Canadians insulted after Fox News shows its true colours, again

A recent airing of Fox’s “Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld” had commentators insulting Canada’s military and people. The show aired on March 17 after an announcement about Canadian personnel and equipment shortages.

With comments like the following host Greg Gutfeld insults the Canadian people’s contribution to the war and peacekeeping efforts in Afghanistan. A war that was started by the United States. A war that has cost Canadians and other nations that have aided the United States countless lives.

During the program, Gutfeld said:

“Once their Afghan mission winds down sometime in 2011, certain members of the Canadian military are looking to take a much-deserved break. And by certain members I mean all of them. Meaning, the Canadian military wants to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white Capri pants.”

Allowing such insults to air shows Fox News’s true colours. Those colours are not making friends in the Great White North. Canadians may be a peaceful people but don’t push too many buttons. Canadians have money and power with advertising. If it goes away there will be repercussions.

News 1130 quotes one woman on Vancouver’s streets:

“If it’s offensive, I probably will like it and I can find the humour in most things, even though it may offend me a little bit. I just don’t think we should take ourselves too seriously. But something like that is kind of crossing the line. There is a line that can be drawn and that’s probably it.”

For five minutes the round table took repeated pot shots at Canada and Canadians. They insulted the ability of the military. They insulted our Mounties, police force, military and a number of other aspects of Canadian culture.

One of the panelists, Doug Benson, commented about not even knowing that Canada was in the war. Those comments were particularly insulting as recentnews reported the tragic death of four more Canadian soldiers. Master Cpl. Scott Vernelli, 28, Cpl. Tyler Crooks, 24, Trooper Jack Bouthillier, 20, and Trooper Corey Joseph Hayes, 22, gave their lives for this cause. A total of 116 Canadian soldiers have been killed in a war that was started by the United States.

Panelist Doug Benson, a comedian, replied: “I didn’t even know they were in the war. I thought that’s where you go when you don’t want to fight. Go chill in Canada.”

On Monday Conservative strategist Geoff Norquay weighed in on his opinions of the broadcast on CTV.

“What could anybody with common sense say about his kind of trash? It’s ignorant, it’s inappropriate, it’s insulting,” Norquay said during an interview on Canada AM. “It’s insulting to the 116 Canadian troops who have given their lives and paid the supreme sacrifice while we’ve been in Afghanistan.”

Steve Staples of the Rideau Insistute isn’t pleased with the airing either. the Edmonton Sun quotes Staples:

Steve Staples, director of the Ottawa-based Rideau Institute, called it a “shameful display” to laugh it up at the expense of families who have lost loved ones. The dismissal of Canadian efforts in Afghanistan simply rubs salt in the wounds of Canadian families whose sons and daughters have been injured or killed in the war.”

Norquay hoped those that in Canada that subscribe to Fox News will make a stand and cancel those subscriptions. He also would like to see Canadian advertisers put their money elsewhere. The network that insults Canada doesn’t need to be funded with Canadian funds.

Daily Mail and General Trust Cutting 1,000 Jobs

The Daily Mail and General Trust is the latest media company printing out pink slips. There are plans to cut the Northcliffe Media regional staff by 1,000.

Northcliffe publishes 113 English papers with a circulation of more than four million readers.

The latest announcement doubles the cuts from November when the group first stated that job cuts were coming. In November it was estimated that the staff would be reduced by 24 percent. Today’s announcement now estimates staff reduction at 37 percent.

DMGT will be down to a staff of 3,500 by year’s end. In the last five months revenue has taken a huge hit, falling by 12 percent.

Newspapers are being hard hit by the recession in the UK as well as North America.

Norfork Archant, owner of the Eastern Daily Press and Evening News is set to slash 34 jobs. Scotland’s The Daily Record and Sunday Mai have merged with plans to cut 70 jobs. Newsquest is asking their staff to take unpaid leaves of absence in order not to have to cut jobs. Forty journalists have been sacked at the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo as the publication reduces editions.

BBC reports that the government is even concerned with the hard times media news is dealing with.

Culture minister Barbara Follett said the government would “work tirelessly to secure news for local communities”

Sylvia Plath’s son commits suicide

Forty-six years after his mother poet Sylvia Plath killed herself, Nicholas Hughes ended his own life by hanging himself.

Nicholas Hughes was the son of poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath.

Ms. Plath’s suicide in 1963 reportedly after enduring her husbands many relationships with other women. Six years later Ted Hughes’ mistress Assia Wevill also killed herself in the same manner as Plath.

Nicholas and his sister Frieda were just infants when their mother pinned a suicide note to their pram. She then went to the kitchen and gassed herself by inhaling the fumes from the over. she spared her children’s lives by sealing the door with towels. She was a mere 30 years old.

The children were not told how their mother died until they were teenagers. Friends told the Daily Mail that Hughes’ suicide was not a legacy of his mother’s death.

‘Nick wasn’t just the baby son of Plath and Hughes and it would be wrong to think of him as some kind of inevitably tragic figure,’ the friend was quoted as saying.

‘He was a man who reached his mid-forties, an adventurous marine biologist with a distinguished academic career behind him and a host of friends and achievements in his own right.

‘That is the man who is mourned by those who knew him.’

Nicholas Hughes, 47, had been battling depression. He was unmarried and had no children.

Hughes was a evolutionary ecologist professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The Guardian reports:

“It is with profound sorrow that I must announce the death of my brother, Nicholas Hughes, who died by his own hand on Monday 16th March 2009 at his home in Alaska,” Frieda Hughes said in a statement published by The Times.

A FedEx plane has crashed in Tokyo

The plane crashed at the main Narita International Airport Monday morning local time. There is no word on survivors. High winds are a factor.

There has yet to be word on any fatalities. The cargo plane bounced twice before bursting into flames.

News reports say that high winds may have been a factor in the crash. It was a MD 11 plane.

One person believed to be a pilot has been taken from the plane. Two people were on plane have been confirmed on the plane, a pilot and a co-pilot. It is not clear if anyone else was on board. The flight originated in China.

The runaway at the airport has been closed.

Information coming live from CNN television.

17 dead in Butte, Montana plane crash

Emergency crews were called at 3 p.m. to a Butte, Montana airport as a plane missed the runaway and burst into flames. CNN is reporting that there were 7 fatalities.

The turboprop plane left Orville, California at 11 A.M. and had a flight plan for a final destination of Bozeman, Montana. There are additional reports that 17 have died as a result of the crash. The FAA has confirmed that there are no survivors.

The crash took place in Butte’s Holy Cross Cemetery.

The pilot changed his plan at some point heading to Butte. The plane crashed just 500 feet short of the airport as it attempted to land at Burt Moony Airport. At the time of the crash weather conditions were not that bad even though a storm front was coming through. At the time it is now being said that weather conditions were clear.

There are reports that many of the victims were young children. They were on a ski vacation.

The Pilatus PC-12 plane was registered to Eagle Cap Leasing Inc. in Enterprise, Oregon. It was manufactured in 2000. The plane is designed to carry a total of 17 people.

This is a developing story. More news will be added as it becomes available.

An eye witness said that the plane made a nose dive into the ground. Other witnesses thought that the plane was a stunt plane because of the motions.

Martha Guidoni, an eye witness at the scene said that it was impossible to help any of the victims. She was a quarter mile away from the cemetery when the crash happened. Her husband said that there was nothing left from the crash scene.

Steve Guidoni said that the crash was in the cemetery. He said that everything was on fire and a pit had formed from the plane. He was told by the police to leave the scene because it is now considered a crime scene.

Former NTSB Vice President Bob Francis said that as far as he is aware there has never been this type of crash with the Pilatus PC-12.

10 Dead From Toxic Gas At Mexican Sewage Pump Station

Ten people have died in central Mexico from toxic fumes at a sewage pump station. It is not known why the victims entered the station to the clean. Going into a pump station is very dangerous.

Atotonilco de Tula town president Julio Cesar Angeles said that a group of volunteers had entered the station on Saturday to clean.

The fumes were stronger than normal according to survivor Rafael Ramirez but the group didn’t know that they were in danger.

Eight of the people were dead at the scene. Two died at a Pachuca hospital. There is still a person missing at the station.

Pump stations can have poisonous gases such as methane and hydrogen sulfide build up in the wet walls. If a person enters the area without the proper equipment they can be overcome very quickly. Because of this danger facilities are normally designed for outside removal of pumps and other equipment.

Feeling the recession-nannies tackle toilets

Nannies tend to children, housekeepers clean the house. That was then. Welcome to multitasking nanny 101 as the recession shrinks down household staffs of the rich and famous.

Household staffers are feeling the pink slips season along with the rest of us. The rich and famous are having to tighten their belts and downsize. What was once a job for 2 or 3 is now being covered by one or two, without a raise in pay often.

At one time it would be unheard of asking the nanny to clean up the kitchen. Today the nanny is often also the housekeeper and at times covering the role of personal assistant. When it comes to job security a nanny will indeed scrub the toilet.

The ones that may feel the brunt of the multi-tasking nanny is the children. When housekeepers are asked to look after the tykes they may not have the training. If the nanny is asked to clean up she may not be the best at the job.

Then there is the question of what happens when the recession ends. Will those who have had to break their backs to keep their jobs be rewarded? If you let go of one of your staff to cut costs will you hire them back when cost isn’t a factor? Will you give the multi-tasker enough of a raise to make up for the extra duties?

If you don’t give that raise you will have a staff person just a little miffed at you and looking for work elsewhere.

F.Scott Yeager Hopes Fifth Amendment Clause Will Keep Him Free

F.Scott Yeager is hoping that the Constitution will keep him out of jail. The former Enron Corp. executive is facing the US Supreme Court on Monday to present arguments about the 5th Amendment’s double jeopardy clause.

Prosecutors want to retry Yeager on counts that the jury could not make a final decision on. They say that does not fall under double jeopardy. Yeager’s attorneys counter that it does.

They believe that they can nail Yeager on fraud that lead to the 2001 collapse of what was once the nation’s seventh-largest company. They are bringing a 52 page brief to the Supreme Court to prove their position.

What is at stake is the alleged insider trading and money laundering that Yeager was reindicted on after a mistrial in 2005. Those 13 counts are standing before him and if the Court says it’s okay to go to trial he could face a long haul in a prison cell.

Boston.com reports:

“Double jeopardy says you can’t be tried twice for the same offense,” said Samuel Buffone, one of Yeager’s attorneys. “Collateral estoppel addresses a retrial of the facts. So if in a murder a jury determined Mr. X wasn’t in possession of a gun on that day, you can’t retry him for shooting someone else with that same gun on that day.”

Buffone will be telling the court on Monday that because the jury rejected the charges his client should not be retried on them.

That’s not going to work says the prosecution.

“But, if the jury in fact acquitted because it determined that (Yeager) did not possess insider information, and that determination also requires acquittal on the insider trading and money laundering counts, then a rational jury should have acquitted on those counts as well,” prosecutors wrote.

The Supreme court will have to decide if a hung jury is or is not the final answer when it comes to double jeopardy.

AP reports:

“What (Buffone) is saying is the government was wrong to say it can retry (Yeager) on the hung counts because the acquittals say the theory the government put forward (on the new charges) is dead … ,” Cynthia M. Monaco, a white collar criminal defense attorney with the New York firm of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney said.

Bestiality May Soon Be Illegal In Florida and Alaska

Florida and Alaska are two states that don’t have laws against animal loving. That may change as law-makers push for a ban on bestiality.

Congress may be snickering but lawmakers in the two states are serious about this issue.

The Seattle Times reports:

“People mostly don’t want to discuss it. I watch my colleagues. They kind of look down when the bill is being presented,” said Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston. “We should be adults here. It’s something that happens and it needs to be discussed and we need to fix the problem. It makes people uncomfortable, but that’s never stopped me.”

Only 16 states don’t have a law to protect animals from humans sexually assaulting them. Dee Thompson, the director of Panhandle Animal Welfare Society is one who has to deal with that fact on a monthly basis. She has had to advise staff on how to deal with cases like four goat rapes in Mossy Head, Florida. One of the animals died. The suspect was charged with stealing two goats.

“Until this case happened to us, we never dreamt there wasn’t a law against this,” Thompson said. “I guess it was one of those things that we thought was a no-brainer.”

The fear is that those who abuse animals sexually will later turn to humans for their sexual gratification.

AP reports:

“The act of forcing a living creature to engage in a sexual activity without the ability of consent cannot simply be viewed as a personal choice — no more than forcing a child or an impaired adult would be,” Rachel Dzuiba, a veterinarian at the Gastineau Humane Society in Juneau told the judiciary committee.

That fear has other cases backing it up. A study by Utah State University showed that 37 percent of sexually violent juvenile offenders have a history of animal sexual assault.

In Alaska a man was convicted of raping a young boy after brutally raping a dog in a local wooded area.

The Sun Times reports:

“When this incident happened, we had a community that was scared,” Klawock Mayor Don Marvin said.

The FBI has records saying the same thing. Their research shows that serial sexual homicide perpetrators that uncovered high rates of sexual assault of animals. It gets worse, twenty percent of children who sexually abuse other children also have histories of sexually abusing animals according to a report in the Journal of Forensic Psychiatry.

“Lock people up that commit these kinds of heinous crimes, otherwise you’re leaving a person out on the streets that, if they commit sexually deviant acts in one area, it’s been proven that they do in the other,” Rich said.

If the bill passes in Florida having sex with animals could be punishable by up to five years in prison. In Alaska the bill presented by State Representative Bob Lynn would bill would make the offense a class A misdemeanor that’s punishable by up to a year in jail and a US$10,000 fine.

“Operation Shellshock” Leads To Charges Against 18

Smugglers often carry humans, drugs, cigarettes and produce across the border. For two years environmental officials have been watching a group tote snapping turtles and Massassauga rattlesnakes between the US and Canada.

The police stopped the operation this week.

Operation Shellshock’s investigation included law enforcement on both sides of the border; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Service, the New York State Attorney General’s Office, Environment Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and police services in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation reports:

“Our investigators began this operation with a simple question: Is there a commercial threat to our critical wildlife species? What they found was alarming,” Commissioner Pete Grannis said. “A very lucrative illegal market for these creatures does exist, fostered by a strong, clandestine culture of people who want to exploit wildlife for illegal profit. I’m proud of the success of our officers. Their work sends a strong message that the buying and selling of New York’s native species will not be tolerated.”

On March 19 the two year investigation paid off with 18 individuals being charged with 14 felonies, 11 misdemeanors and dozens of violations in New York. In Ontario 3 men face 34 charges related to the alleged illegal capture, possession and cross-border sale of endangered species. One of those men, Emanuele Tesoro also faces charges in the United States as well.

The Toronto Star reports:

“There were significant numbers of rattlesnakes involved. That can have a big impact on the (Ontario) population,” Ministry of Natural Resources spokesperson David Critchlow said.

On CTV Critchlow added:

“A conviction under the Endangered Species Act alone in Ontario can see a maximum fine of $250,000 and/or a year in jail, and that can be per animal or per offence,” he said.

Throughout the course of the investigation more than 2,400 turtles, snakes and salamanders were documented as they illegally were taken across the borders between Canada and the United States. The DEC currently has 400 live animals being held as evidence.

There were buyers for the animals as far away as China and Germany.

One dealer bragged about the money to be made from selling thousands of snapping turtles from a Louisiana turtle farm. According to a report on Times Union he made $100,000 shipping the animals to China as food.

Smuggling reptiles is not always a safe job. One of the poachers investigators watched had a home video of his arm being swollen and discoloured after a copperhead bite him. That didn’t stop the poacher though from selling the snakes taken from the Mohonk Preserve. Each snake made him several hundred dollars.

A reptiles dealer arrested on the North side of the border in Niagara Falls was driving a van with 33 endangered massasauga rattlesnakes located in the door panels.

The investigators vendors at herpetological shows in New York and Pennsylvania, searched online for chat rooms and Internet sales sites and dealt with countless dealers throughout the two year investigation.

“Reptiles and amphibians are important environmental indicators that tell us much about the health of the planet. As such, they must be protected — not exploited,” said David Critchlow, Provincial Enforcement Specialist of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. “Through the cooperative work of Canadian and American agencies, we hopefully have not only put a dent in the black market for these animals but also sent a strong message to legitimate collectors and the general public.”

Those arrested in the States are facing 15 days in jail and a $250 fine to a $5,000 fine and a four-year prison term.

Many of the animals being detained will be returned to their native habitats.

Canadian Stops School Arson In The UK

Concordia music student JP Neufeld may have saved the lives of 950 students in Norfolk, England after reporting a student’s threat in a chatroom.

JP Newfeld was browsing newgrounds.com Tuesday morning when he came across this piece:

“Today, at 11:30 GMT I will attack my school with arson and other forms of violence. Those bastards will pay”

Mr. Newfeld knew that someone needed to warn the school and notified the Norfolk Constabulary. He then engaged the boy into a chat giving the police enough time to get to the school.

The boy was tired of being bullied. After chatting with the Montreal resident he went to school ready to torch the building. Police found fuel, matches and a knife on the teen when they stopped him on his way into the school.

The Age reports:

“The constabulary was alerted by a member of the public after a message was posted on a website inferring the criminal damage of Attleborough High School,” said Superintendent Katie Elliott.

“When the individual attended the school the youth’s bag was confiscated. Inside a knife, matches and a canister of what is believed to be a flammable liquid was discovered.

“The youth was arrested for threats to commit criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon.”

The boy has been detained under the Mental Health Act.

Florida Boy Suspended For Passing Gas on the Bus

An eighth grade student at Bill Duncan Excel Center in south Lakeland has been suspended from riding his school bus for three days. He didn’t cuss the driver, bully other students or do anything more harmful than farting.

Yes, Jonathon Locke, Jr. can’t ride the bus because he farted.

The Lakeland Ledger reports that Jonathon says he isn’t even the child that passed wind. That made no difference to the bus driver.

“Jonathan passes gas on the bus to make the other children laugh and it is so stink [sic] that you can’t breathe after he does it,” the bus driver wrote on a misbehavior form.

While passing gas isn’t on the rule books according to Jerome Corbett, senior director of specialized services for the Polk County School District disturbing the bus is.

Fred Murphy, assistant superintendent of support services, directed calls to Corbett but said that “if it (passing gas) caused a disruption on the bus, that would be an issue to deal with.”

According to Jonathon on Monday another student on the bus passed gas and he laughed because it was a bad smell. The next day the bus driver handed him a suspension form and ordered the boy off of his bus. Jonathon had to call his father for a ride home.

Papa Jonathon is not very happy about the matter.

“I had no notice about anything,” Locke said. “It’s costing me time (at work).”

This isn’t the first time his son has been in trouble at school. Bill Duncan is an alternative school of last-chance. Jonathon is attending after being expelled from Mulberry Middle School for fighting. If a student is expelled from Bill Duncan they are kicked out of the district school system for good.

Natasha Richardson’s Time Should Not Have Run Out

Why did it take Natasha Richardson four hours to be admitted to hospital? Those four hours were the difference between life and death. Sadly, Richardson lost her life as blood seeped through her brain.

Questions are now surfacing about what actually happened the last few hours from Richardson’s fall at a Quebec ski resort.

Paramedic records show that the first medics on the scene were turned away. They did see the actress briefly from a distance though. The report contradicts what the ski resort has been saying. They did not see her laughing and walking off the fall which has been reported.

The epidural hematoma which caused the actress’s death could have been treated if she had gone at that time to hospital.

The coroner has reported that a blunt trauma tore an artery in Ms. Richardson’s head and led to bleeding between her skull and the outer lining of her brain.

The New York Times reports:

“It can be quite dramatic,” Dr. Langer said. “It’s one of the most acute neurological emergencies. It’s one of the few times where it’s life or death, where you can truly save somebody’s life, or they die if you don’t get to them.”

It’s common practice for Mont Tremblant, where Richardson was staying, to call for ambulances after skiers have minor falls. It is just as common for the emergency crews to be turned away when they arrive.

The questions that are arising stem from the second call for emergency help. Officials at Mont Tremblant say that an hour after the incident Ms. Richardson was taken to hospital.

The first call came in at 12:43 pm at the time of the accident. The ambulance was on the scene 17 minutes later. They left soon after when told Richardson did not want medical attention.

The second call came in not an hour later but over two hours later at 3 p.m. according to ambulance records. The ambulance arrived at 3:09 p.m. The medical crew worked on her until 3:42 p.m. when it rushed to a Ste. Agathe hospital. Richardson arrived at hospital at 4:20 pm.

By then her fate was already sealed.

Richardson was transferred to hospital in Montreal about 7 p.m.

She went to the second hospital by ambulance because there is no air transport in the area. Twenty-four hours later she was taken to New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital by plane. Quebec is the only province that doesn’t have air transportation for medical emergencies.

The Toronto Star reports:

“If you have a ski crash at (Mont) Tremblant or in Sutton,” Dr. Tarek Razek said, “I cannot get you to my centre fast enough to have those reductions in mortality. I just can’t. Because we don’t have the mechanisms and the systems in this region to get you there.

“So,” he continued, “wear a helmet when you ski.”

The resort will not comment on the chain of event but will cooperate with any investigations stemming from Richardson’s death.

MP George Galloway Banned From Canada

British MP George Galloway has been banned from Canada on the grounds of national security. He was due to speak on March 30 but his visa was denied.

Galloway is a MP for the Respect Party in the UK. He has called the ban ‘idiotic’ and is looking at legal action to overturn it.

BBC reports that Galloway believes that the ban is over his views on the Iraq War.

“This has further vindicated the anti-war movement’s contention that unjust wars abroad will end up consuming the very liberties that make us who we are,” he said.

“All right-thinking Canadians, whether they agree with me or not, will oppose this outrageous decision.”

Galloway was slated to speak at Resisting War from Gaza to Kandahar taking place in Toronto on March 30.

Jason Kenney, Canada’s immigration minister has declined to act in Galloway’s interest. A spokesman for that the act in which Galloway was banned is designed to protect the residents of Canada from those who fund, support or engage in terrorism.

Alykhan Velshi, Kennedy’s spokesman is quoted by the Guardian:

“We’re going to uphold the law, not give special treatment to this infamous street-corner Cromwell who actually brags about giving ‘financial support’ to Hamas, a terrorist organisation banned in Canada,” he said. “I’m sure Galloway has a large Rolodex of friends in regimes elsewhere in the world willing to roll out the red carpet for him. Canada, however, won’t be one of them.”

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has confirmed that Galloway was banned from Canada based on a number of factors. The ban is in accordance with section 34(1) of the immigration act in Canada.

The act states:

“A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible on security grounds for:

(a) engaging in an act of espionage or an act of subversion against a democratic government, institution or process as they are understood in Canada;

(b) engaging in or instigating the subversion by force of any government;

(c) engaging in terrorism;

(d) being a danger to the security of Canada;

(e) engaging in acts of violence that would or might endanger the lives or safety of persons in Canada; or

(f) being a member of an organization that there are reasonable grounds to believe engages, has engaged or will engage in acts referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).”

This is not the first time Galloway has been banned from a country. In 2006 he was denied entry into Egypt on grounds of national security when he tried to attend a ‘mock trial’ of then British PM Tony Blair and United States President George Bush.

Will The Taliban Behead Canadian Journalist Beverly Giesbrecht?

A Canadian journalist is in fear of her life. The Taliban has threatened to behead her at month’s end if ransom is not paid. West Vancouver native Beverly Giesbrecht was taken four months ago in Pakistan at gunpoint by Taliban militants.

Ms. Giebrecht, also known as Khadeja Abdul Qahaar was kidnapped on November 11. Three others were with her when she was taken while traveling to record video.

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression says that the latest video was sent on Wednesday to a media outlet in Pakistan. The video features the frail journalist asking for help so that she is not killed. The group is concerned that process is lacking on getting the journalist freed.

The 52-year-old journalist is seen on a video saying that her captors will kill her on March 30.

The National Post reports:

I’m going to be killed, as you can see,” Qahaar says on the video, pointing at a long knife hanging behind her.

“I’m going to be beheaded just like the Polish engineer, probably by the end of the month. The deadline is by the end of March.”

She was speaking of Polish geologist Piotr Stanczak who was beheaded on February 7 this year by a Taliban group in Pakistan. During the video Ms. Giesbrecht said she wasn’t sure where she was being held. She believes that she is near the Afghan border in either Afghanistan or Pakistan.

Giebrecht converted to Islam after the terrorist attacks on the US of 9/11. She owns and published a pro-Islamic web magazine called Jihad Unspun. That magazine has been tagged as a “a Canadian pro-terrorist website” by he Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies. She has claimed that the site provides information that is “devoid of the constraints of mainstream media.”

At the time of her kidnapping she was working on a documentary for the Al-Jazeera network. That is what was listed as well on her work visa.The kidnappers are demanding $2 million for her release along with the release of some prisoners jailed in Afghanistan.

It is believed that she was captured by the Taliban commander Gul Bahadur, who leads fighters in the volatile North Waziristan region. Residents of the area say the Taliban is in need of money and that is the motive for kidnapping.

The Globe and Mail reports:

They are in dire need of money. We are sure she will be released as they get the ransom. The demand of the money should be accepted and it is not an expensive deal to save her life,” said Muhammad Noor, sitting in a medical store in North Waziristan’s Miranshah hamlet.

Local residents could help rescue the journalist but the risk to go against the Taliban is too great. The Taliban is known for decapitating those they deem of being ’spies for American forces’ in the area.

The Globe and Mail has been told by locals that cash would buy Giesbrecht’s life.

Friend Glen Cooper has viewed the latest video. He says that he is worried about her health and that she appears to be fragile.

The web magazine, Jihad Unspun, she founded was last updated she was taken.

Khadija Abdul Qahar is a devoted Muslim who created this web site.
Since 2002 she has operated a totally independent outlet for news about the Middle East.
With almost no resources, this tiny but remarkable woman raised the bar for courageous reporting.
She knew that her integrity would be attacked by both sides.
But Khadija appreciates the kind support from fellow Muslims world-wide.
Her primary goal is independent journalism that provides an alternate voice to Western media.
She was aware of the risks involved in her latest journey, but had faith in those who were supposed to protect her.
Pray to Allah that she will be allowed to continue her efforts.

This site will resume operation upon her release.

Giesbrecht is one of two journalists from Canada being held by kidnappers. Amanda Lindout, a freelance journalist, has been held for the past seven months in Sudan.

The National Post reports:

Lisa Monette, a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs, told Canwest News Service Thursday night that officials were “aware of this video, but we have no further comment.”

Opinion: How Fair Is It That Fritzl Will Live An Easy Life In Prison?

Josef Fritzl is going to jail for a term that could be as short as 14 years. The prison that he’ll be staying at is a 5 star hotel compared to the dungeon his daughter Elisabeth and their children were forced to live in.

Fritzl will be housed in a 12 metre-square cell with en-suite shower at secure mental unit at Mittersteig jail, Vienna. He will have his own television and computer. If he gets lonely he can get a pet.

Every day he will be allowed to go to the garden to exercise. For eight hours a day he’ll be able to leave his cell to socialize with the other inmates reading newspapers or visiting the music centre. There is a common sitting room, kitchen and tea-making area that all inmates are free to enjoy from 9 am until 6 pm each day.

Fritzl will be able to take classes at the learning centre. He could learn arts and crafts or take language classes.

The Telegraph reports:

Fritzl’s lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, said: “He doesn’t mind where he goes. It’s not like it’s a hotel but he would like a prison close to home because it may be that relatives will go to see him.”

Mittersteig is considered a ’boutique’ prison. There are only 90 inmates, two thirds of which are sex offenders.

Fritzl locked his daughter up for 28 years in a basement dungeon. During that time he raped her at least 3,000 times. He beat her. He starved her and the children she bore. He threatened to kill her and the children if they attempted to escape.

Elisabeth and the children were sent to a psychiatric hospital after they were released from their dungeon almost a year ago. It is taking time for the family to readjust to a life of sunlight and freedom. They are slowly learning. They now have new identities and a new home. The doors are always open and sunlight brightens the rooms.

They are damaged. Their father, their mother’s rapist, took the chance of a normal life away from them. The youngest, Felix has a chance according to doctors to make a full recovery.

The children that were allowed to leave the dungeon and live upstairs with their father had a relatively normal childhood. They are having a difficult time bonding with their dungeon siblings.

Within 14 years if Fritzl responds to his psychiatric treatments he’ll be allowed to leave the penal system.

Shouldn’t he have to serve at least as long as the daughter who was innocent?

Alaska Governor Palin Rejects 30 Percent of Fed. Stimulus Package

Sarah Palin won’t be taking 31 percent of the federal stimulus package that could help out Alaska. She says that the money is ‘timely, targeted and temporary’ and could have strings attached.

Palin will accept the $128 million in Medicaid stimulus. This announcement comes as Alaska is facing a $2.6 billion deficit over this year and next from low oil prices. Almost all of the state revenues come for oil.

Fox News reports:

“I can’t attest to every fund that’s being offered the state in the stimulus package will be used to create jobs and stimulate the economy, so I’m requesting only those things that I know will,” Palin said at a news conference at the Capitol. “Public discussion will have to ensue on all those other dollars that some will say ‘you left on the table.”‘

Palin disappointed the education sector of her state by refusing the $160 million that was offered in education monies.

“We believe that we can make very good use of the funds, not only in job preservation but also in adding new positions to ultimately use these funds to increase student achievement for our neediest children,” Anchorage Superintendent of Schools Carol Comeau said in a news release.

She is not the only Governor who’s saying that they only want a portion of the money though. Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana are also only taking a piece of the pie. Texas Governor Rick Perry is turning down $555 million of the package that would expand his state’s unemployment benefits.

Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Charlie Crist of Florida on the other hand are thankful for the package.

The Swamp reports:

“After soliciting and accepting more federal dollars per capita than any other governor in the union, Sarah Palin’s decision today to deny the state of Alaska over half a billion dollars in recovery and reinvestment funds – including millions for schools, energy and public safety – appears to be nothing more than political posturing,” said Brad Woodhouse, spokesman for the Democratic National Committee.

“At a time when her state is suffering, Alaska’s working families cannot afford a governor that puts her political future ahead of the needs of the state and its families.”

States have until April 3 to accept funds from the stimulus package.

Job Fair For Strippers In Rhode Island

If you don’t have the money for a new business wardrobe and live in Rhode Island there may be a position for you. The Foxy Lady strip club is hiring. They are throwing a job fair this Saturday at their Providence, Rhode Island club.

There are about 30 spots open for waitresses and strippers. Co-owner Tom Tsoumas is hoping that the recession will tip the turn out in his favor.

Fox Lady club manager Bob Travisono is looking for diamonds in the rough. He’s been taking a lot of phone calls that indicate that there will be a nice assortment of ladies to choice from on Saturday.

CNN reports:

“So many people in Rhode Island have been hit hard by the economy that we wanted to do our part,” he said, adding that he couldn’t think of a better place than the Foxy Lady to find that ideal job.

Rhode Island has been hard hit by the recession. The state is experiencing an unemployment rate of 10.3 percent as of January.

If you are planning on coming to the job fair bring your resume and be ready to answer a short questionnaire. New 24 quotes co-owner Tsoumas:

“I need more managers, I need more competent staff, and I need more attractive waitresses to go along with the ones I have right now,” said co-owner Tom Tsoumas.

Wal-Mart Set To Give Hourly Employees Bonuses

Wal-Mart employees are about to get a nice little bonuses the company announced Thursday. Employees are being awarded about $2 billion through financial incentives.

A memo was distributed to employees saying that hourly workers would be awarded roughly $2 billion, which includes $933.6 million in bonuses, $788.8 million in profit sharing and 401(k) contributions, millions of dollars in merchandise discounts, and contributions to its employee stock purchase plan.

Reuters reports:

“While economic challenges forced others to step back, we moved forward,” Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke stated in the memo.

The memo was given only to employees. Reuters was able to obtain a copy.

Toronto Street Art Means Spring Is Back

Walking down the streets in Toronto can be an adventure in art. A person doesn’t have to shell out any money to be serenaded or see a new painting.

Art takes place on the streets of Toronto everyday but once Spring is in the air it really takes off. Listening to guitarists or fiddlers or the sounds of Scottish bagpipes can be had just by taking a walk on any downtown street.

KJ Mullins Chalk artists are everywhere. One of those artists, Chalkmaster Dave Johnston was outside the Eaton Centre on Wednesday bringing his talents to life. He’s been working the cement since 1991. Now he’s a master and that skill has taken him to corporate gigs, special events, festivals worldwide and private commissions. KJ Mullins Chalkmaster posing with his work Visit Toronto’s streets with a camera. You never know when you’ll have the chance to have a piece of art to capture. With Spring back though chances are very high the street is filled with it. Shane Mullins

Jobless Rate In US Hits 5.47 Million

The jobless rate in the United States has climbed to 5.47 million in the week ending March 14 up from the previous week’s 5.288 million.

The four week average of new claims has risen from February 21st 646,000 to 654,750.

There is a slight bit of good news though as first time claims for unemployment benefits decreased slightly. There is an increase though for continuing claims. Last week’s estimate for this week was 658,000 for new claims. The actual number for new claims was 646,000 according to the Labor Department.

RTT News reports:

“The data speaks for itself and the story remains the same, more weakness, “said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak. “The hope though is that since this is a lagging indicator, the economy will start to improve before this data does, but who knows when.”

The increase of continuing claims shows that laid-off employees are having difficulty in finding new work.

The numbers are not completely accurate. There is an additional 1.5 million people who are getting benefits under an extended unemployment compensation program. The program started last year after being approved by Congress.

The job situation does not look good for many seeking employment as more and more companies are having to slash their work force in order to survive the recession.

Two US Reporters Detained In North Korea

U.S. reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been arrested on the North Korea border. They were detained near the border of China after the two ignored orders to stop filming Korean refugees. The reporters were working on a report on their plight.

Youhap news agency spoke to the pair on Tuesday morning while they were in Yanji, China. Rev Chun said that they had planned to go to the border city of Dandong where many North Koreans attempt to escape to South Korea.

Rev Chun works for Seoul-based Durihana Mission that helps North Korean defectors hide in China and other Southeast Asian countries while they seek asylum in the United States and South Korea.

The LA Times reports:

“China is investigating the issue involving relevant U.S. nationals on the border between China and (North Korea),” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing.

Ling and Lee work for Current TV, a network co-founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. Last year the station won an Emmy for the best interactive television news source.

Ling was sending updates to Twitter about the trip. On Saturday her message indicated that she knew that there was danger in where she and Lee were for their report.

“Hoping my kimchee breath will ward off all danger,” she wrote.

In a post three days earlier, she wrote: “Spent the day interviewing young N. Koreans who escaped their country. Too many sad stories.”

It’s being reported by Reuters that the journalists were on the frozen Tumen river when taken by North Korean security guards. It’s not certain if the two were in China or North Korea at the time of the arrest. North Korean guards have often crossed the border themselves making illegal arrests.Another man from the news group was with them was able to escape.

“It’s difficult to comment on this matter because it involves a U.S. citizen, but our government is aware that a U.S. journalist is in detention in the North,” the senior South Korean government official was quoted as saying.

Rev Chun had warned the reporters that is was very dangerous to go to the border and told them not to.

Skiing and Helmets Are a good Mix

Natasha Richardson may have died as a result of a blow to her head on a beginner ski slope. So did Boo Sung “James” Moon, 13, in Barrie, Ontario this past February. They were not wearing helmets. Helmets don’t always save lives but they protect.

When young Moon died there were renewed calls for legislation that would require children to wear helmets while skiing. Premier Dalton McGuinty dismissed the cries.

Studies have shown that head injuries are the leading cause of death on ski slopes. A study by the British Medical Association in 2003 found that in the United States the availability of helmet rentals varied by the ski area size. In the South and Midwest helmets were often not part of ski rentals.

Once neuronal damage once it has occurred there is very little that can be done to reverse the outcomes. The only way to reduce the numbers of ski accident TBI (traumatic brain injury) is to protect the head.

The one factor though on protection of the head during a skiing accident is the speed that the skier is going at the time of the head is hit. Helmets are likely to prevent only those head injuries sustained as a result of an indirect or low speed direct blow to the head.

There has been an increase though on US slopes for head protection. According to the National Ski Areas Association in the past five years more skiers are using helmets. While only 32 percent of those aged 18-24 will don a helmet more than 70 percent of children under 9 are hitting the slopes with head gear. The highest number of helmet wearers are in the West and Northeast.

Another study by the Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia suggests that n skiers and snowboarders under 13 years of age, helmet use does not increase the incidence of cervical spine injury and does reduce the incidence of head injury requiring investigation and/or treatment. That study was completed in 1998-1999.

The chances of a helmet protecting you in a ski accident are better odds than going without. Your brain just may thank you.

Updated: Actress Natasha Richardson died Wednesday night at 45

The sad news from New York is that Natasha Richardson has been flown home for that family can say final farewells to the actress. The wife of Liam Neeson was injured during a fall on a ski slope in Quebec, Canada. Richardson’s death was reported evening.

Update: Sources are now reporting Richardson has been taken off life support and is now dead. The family has not yet confirmed this.

Update: The Daily Mail reports: A family spokesman said: ‘Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha.

‘They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.’

The fall where she hit her head appeared to be minor as Richardson was mobile afterward and went back to her hotel. It has been said that the actress was laughing when she first stood up. She was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

An hour later the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and Tony Richardson reported to not be feeling well and taken by ambulance to Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Ste-Agathe, Quebec. She was transferred later to Sacre-Coeur hospital in Montreal. Late Tuesday, reports surfaced that she was brain dead and put on life support. On Wednesday the actress and her husband were flown into New York City’s Lenox Hill hospital.

Various sources are telling the media that Richardson has been declared ‘brain dead.’

Ms Richardson won a Tony Award in 1998 for her role in Cabaret. She also has appeared in many films including The Handmaid’s Tale, Gothic, A Month in the Country, and Nell. She met her husband while filming Nell.

They were married in 1984 and have two sons.

The Daily Mail reports:

‘It’s so sad. Vanessa, her sister Lynn, everybody is gathering in New York to say goodbye,’ the close friend of the family told the Daily Mail last night, before adding: ‘No one can believe what has happened, that this once vibrant woman, full of love, of life, is lying there brain dead.’

Ms. Richardson is part of one of Britain’s theatrical dynasties. Her sister is Joely Richardson, 44, and her grandfather is Sir Michael Redgrave.

Peter McCabe of Headway UK said that this type of injury can be avoided by wearing a helmet.

‘If you have a fall and bash your head, please don’t assume all is well. It is better to get it checked. If a member of my family hurt their head I would take them to A&E just to be sure. Missing a few hours of fun is a price worth paying. I’ve seen so many instances of the damage brain injuries can do. If you lose consciousness at any time then go to the hospital and insist on getting scans. Headaches, vomiting, drowsiness and dilation of pupils are other serious warning signs. A good facility will scan the brain. If there are any signs of a build of pressure the neuroscientists can open the brain and give the swelling somewhere to go. It is possible to make a full recovery from a brain injury, but time is crucial.

London’s Skies Black From Field House Fire

London’s skies are black with smoke at the Field House which houses immigration court is on fire on Wednesday. The fire is just half a mile west of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

London Fire Brigade has said that twelve engines and 60 firefighters are on the scene.

News 24 reports:

“There are reports of cylinders involved in the fire. We believe the roof area was under refurbishment,” an LFB spokesperson said.

CNN has reported that propane tanks were on the roof but were moved because of explosion fears.

There have been no reports of injuries. The fire department is said to be in the process of controlling the flames.

Police have blocked access at Chancery Lane at the junction with Fleet Street. No traffic is allowed in the area at present.

ITN reports:

A Tribunals Service spokeswoman said: “We are at present trying to contact those who were due to have hearings in the building tomorrow to advise them not to attend and we will be in touch with them about arranging new dates.”

Opinion: Does The Pope Want Africans To Die?

Pope Benedict XVI is telling his faithful in Africa, where HIV is rampant that condoms are not the answer. The head of the Catholic church is now dividing even the clergy with his outrageous statements.

For the first time Pope Benedict XVI has commented on condoms. His comments though are shocking and could hurt efforts to curb the HIV virus in Africa.

AP quotes the Pope:

“You can’t resolve it with the distribution of condoms,” the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane headed to Yaounde, Cameroon, where he will begin a seven-day pilgrimage on the continent. “On the contrary, it increases the problem.”

Benedict’s first papal visit to the continent will be to Cameroon and Angola.

The Pope’s comments though are the exact opposite of reality. Reality is the only means of protection from the HIV virus during sexual intercourse is a condom. While not the only way to fight HIV condoms are one of the few ways that work.

The Chronicle Reports:

“Instead, his opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans,” said Rebecca Hodes with the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa.

Telling a continent where over 22 million people are suffering, dying and infecting others not to use a condom is akin to playing Russian roulette with the masses.

Nuns and priests working with HIV know better. They have had to struggle with the church’s stance on condoms. In the end, life wins that struggle.

For a religious head to tell his flock not to protect themselves simply because it is also a means of birth control is disgusting. For a man who has not bothered to tour the areas where HIV has devastated to place judgments is even worse. This is the first trip he’s taken to Africa. He’s been the pope for four years.

It’s widely known that the Catholic Church is against birth control and premartial sex. That is all well and good but to undermine the realities of a disease that is leaving millions dead is just short of criminal.

Nokia sending out 1,700 pink slips

Nokia is set to send out 1,700 pink slips worldwide in an effort to cut costs. The world’s largest cell phone maker needs to reduce employees in several of the company’s departments.

Forbes reports:

“Nokia are step by step disclosing more information about expenditure cuts,” said Thomas Langer, an analyst with WestLB, on Tuesday. “There’s definitely more to come.”

According to Arja Suominen of Nokia about 700 jobs will go in Finland, with the US and the UK. The second hardest hit is expected to be the head office in Farnborough, Hampshire. Plans to talk to employees are to begin soon.

Earlier plans to survive the global economic crisis saw voluntary resignations from up to 1,000 workers. That program is open to employees until the end of May. Those employees have been offered resignation packages to employees and encourage them to take unpaid leave to cut costs.

Bloomberg reports:

“It’s a sign the mobile phone market is still deteriorating,” said Mauritz Redin, Stockholm-based head of equities at Alfred Berg AB, which manages $27 billion in assets. “That they were going to reduce headcount, and the size of the cutback, were pretty much as expected.”

The job cuts are an effort for the company to reach their goal of 700 million euros saved this year.

Helping Mosquitoes Get Healthy May Save Lives

Malaria comes from sick Anopheles mosquitoes who bite humans injecting them with Plasmodium. Researchers know that mosquitoes like human have immune systems but a protozoan parasite is smarter than that immune system.

John Hopkins University Malaria Research Institute is going to work to improve the mosquitoes immune system. The theory is that if the immune system can block the protozoan parasite then malaria could be a disease of the past.

Most of the time the protozoan parasite entering the mosquito is after a bite to a human. Once in the mosquitoes system the parasites that survive gut migration replicate and move on to the salivary glands ready to enter the next human host.

This is not a simple little experiment though. It requires developing enough genetically modified mosquito with a strengthened immune system that they breed with other mosquitoes and pass on the gene. It’s a long shot. If that long shot works though the world may talk about a day of when malaria was a big problem instead of in the present tense.

Opinion: What’s the government really got to do with love?

Why do marriage need a legal document? That question is being asked by two law professors at Pepperdine University in a paper published March 2 in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The two authors of the paper voted differently on Prop 8, the end of gay marriage in California.

Douglas W. Kmiec and Shelley Ross Saxer examined why there is a need for a legal document for marriage when many consider it a religious ceremony. Think about it, if you were baptized your parents didn’t rush to the courthouse to have a paper drawn up.

Taking the marriage ceremony out of the question though isn’t their solution. They believe that all couples; straight, gay or polka dotted should get a ‘civil union’ license. That would allow for the benefits that many governments give to those who are married and take the religion game out of the equation. Those who are religious will still have marriage ceremonies.

Time reports:

“While new terminology for all may at first seem awkward – mostly in greeting-card shops – [it] dovetails with the court’s important responsibility to reaffirm the unfettered freedom of all faiths to extend the nomenclature of marriage as their traditions allow,” wrote professors Douglas W. Kmiec and Shelley Ross Saxer. Kmiec voted for Prop 8 because of the teachings of his Catholic Church and his notion of religious liberty, but has since said he believes the Court should not allow one group of Californians to marry while denying the privilege to others.

In all honestly the idea would fail. It’s not the term marriage that killed Prop 8. It’s the ideal that homosexual marriage is just as real as heterosexual marriage. Those who oppose it, generally the very religious, are against any type of coupling among homosexuals.

But taking away ‘married’ may be a hard sell for married folks. Even those of us who are in common-law marriages. Married in this society means something more than civil union. I call my partner my husband even though we don’t have a piece of paper.

Maybe the answer is to do without formal documentations all together. It wouldn’t matter who you give your heart to. It would no longer be a government issue.

When a child is born their parents are automatically required to provide for it. When a couple breaks up then they spilt up their property that they obtained while they were together fairly and equally, without a judge saying who gets what.

It’s a simplistic idea, there are too many that would skirt the honestly and fairness quotation that would require.

What do you think? Do you think that the government has a right to be involved in the matters of the heart? Do you think that religion is the only way that should bond two people together? Or do you think love should be the ruler in the matter?

Toronto’s Filmport Studios Are Booming

Toronto’s newest film and television studio doesn’t have any free parking places. That’s great news for the city as filming is up and the studios are almost completely booked.

Filmport Studios opened last year at the worst time possible. The Canadian dollar was close to par with the U.S. dollar and producers were staying south of the border. The dollar rates have changed though, helping Toronto gain more work.

Filmport is attracting a number of pilots this year as well as feature films. Both Atom Egoyan’s Chloe, starring Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson, and Love Child, starring Donald Sutherland are being shot in the city. Next month Brampton native Michael Cera will be shooting Scott Pilgrim vs. The World in T Town.

The pilot market is looking rosy as well with Happy Town for ABC/Disney, Battle of Maggie Hill for Fox and two CBS/Paramount pilots, Back and U.S. Attorney all being shoot in the studios and streets of Toronto.

The Toronto Star reports:

“We’re definitely looking at 2009 being a better year in film and television production than it was in 2008. Notwithstanding the horrible recession that’s going on in the world, this is one sector in Toronto that’s going to be better off,” said Ken Ferguson, president of Toronto Film Studios.

That’s good news for the 35,000 Torontonians that make their living in the film industry.

Some North Koreans Getting A Slice Of Life

North Koreans are getting a taste of Italy for the first time as a pizza parlour is opened in Pyongyang. It may seem a bit off though as the nation has struggled to feed the masses even regular fare.

North Korean leader Kim Jong is said to be a gourmet who loves Western food. When he discovered that the chefs in Pyongyang couldn’t produce a decent tasting pizza he sent a delegation of local chefs to Italy to learn how to make it the right way last year.

In the late 1990’s he had tried to get pizza made right by bringing a team of Italian chefs to North Korea to instruct his army officers on how to put out a decent pizza. The pies were only offered to a few elite members of the nation though.

This time around high-quality Italian wheat, flour, butter and cheese are coming to the pizza parlour straight from Italy.

Reports the Telegraph:

“Our people should be also allowed to enjoy the world-famous food,” the manager of the Pyongyang eatery quoted Kim as saying, according to the Tokyo-based Choson Sinbo newspaper.

This may seem like progress but for a nation that have 24 million people struggling to be feed it seems like a slap in the face to many.

Most people in North Korea make by with very little. The average income was a mere $1,150 in 2007 making it one of the world’s poorest nations.

A famine during the mid 1990’s is said to have resulted in as many as 2 million deaths. North Korea’s elite though don’t deal with that struggle, they feast on French wine and delicacies such as shark fin soup and caviar.

Actor Ron Silver Dead At 62 From Cancer

Actor and activist Ron Silver died Sunday at the age of 62 from cancer. He had been battling esophageal cancer for two years.

Silver died at his home with his family around him Sunday morning.

Silver will be remembered not only for his acting skills but also for his work as a champion of free speech and artists rights.

Born in Manhattan on July 2, 1946 he studied acting at Herbert Berghof Studio after graduating from St. John’s University with a Master’s degree in Asian studies.

Reuters reports:

“Ron Silver died peacefully in his sleep with his family around him early Sunday morning,” said Robin Bronk, executive director of the Creative Coalition, which Silver helped found.

He was a staunch supporter of Bill Clinton, Rudolph W. Giuliani and President George W. Bush.

He is survived by his parents, who live in Manhattan; another brother, Keith, of Stamford, Conn.; a son, Adam, of Los Angeles; and a daughter, Alexandra, of Manhattan.

TB Alert for some on last Tuesday’s Northwest Airlines Flight 51

A passenger on a flight from Germany to Detroit last Tuesday has tested positive for tuberculosis according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The passenger is being treated at hospital after customs officials discovered that the passenger was ill upon arrival.

Seventeen passengers on the Northwest Airlines Flight 51 are being notified that they have been exposed to the lung disease. The flight was to Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Frankfurt.

The passengers being notified sat within two rows of the sick passenger in every direction. They will be contacted by state and local health department officials. As a precautionary move those passengers should be tested.

Insomniacs Should Get Out Of Bed To Sleep Better

Can’t sleep? Maybe you should get out of bed say scientists. Insomniacs were told to keep a diary of the amount of time that they spent in bed in a study just published by the British Medical Journal.

After reviewing the diaries of those in the Auckland University study researchers told participants to change their habits and reduce the time that they spent in bed each night by the hours they laid awake on average. Most of those in the study slept on average of five hours but spent eight to nine hours in bed.

Stuff.co.nz reports:

“If they were only sleeping for five to six hours, they were only allowed to stay in bed for a maximum of six hours. It is counter-intuitive people with sleep problems often spend longer in bed and go to bed early hoping to get to sleep.

“But if the brain is not ready to sleep, it won’t sleep. This is about retraining the brain to sleep again.

“A lot of insomnia patients don’t feel sleepy at 9, 10 or 11pm like most people. One way to make them sleepier is to delay bedtime. But people don’t think like that; they think they should go bed earlier.”

After a couple of weeks the patients of being in bed less they found that they were sleeping better.

Tony Fernando, leader of the study is quoted by the Times of India:

“It means the millions we spend on drugs, herbal medicines and special mattresses looking for an answer can actually be solved by something very simple,” The Sunday Star Times quoted him, as saying.

The study had 40 participants who were followed for two years. They targeted those insomniacs that had no obvious cause (depression, anxiety or other sleep disorders)for not being able to get a good night’s rest.

After a four-week “sleep rescheduling protocol” between 80 to 90 percent of the patients had improved sleep patterns.

A larger study funded by the Health Research Council has started with a broader range of participants.

Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, footing the bill for research

Google co-founder Sergey Brin is trying to find the gene that leads to Parkinson’s disease. His mother has the disease and he found last year that he carries a mutation that shows he is more at risk of developing Parkinson’s.

That knowledge has lead the 35-year-old Brin to want to make a difference in the fight of Parkinson’s disease. He’s putting his money on the table to fund the study, $4 million. The Australian News reports:

“We can make significant progress in understanding Parkinson’s disease if individuals join together and contribute their personal experiences to scientific research,” Mr Brin said.

“Individually, our genes and experiences are lost in a sea of statistical noise. But, taken together they become a high-power lens on our inner workings.”

On Thursday the Sunnyvale-based Parkinson’s Institute and the Michael J. Fox announced that Brin was funding a special study to help in the search of the gene mutations with Parkinson’s disease.

More than 1.5 million Americans live with Parkinson’s, an incurable brain disease. It causes uncontrollable shaking. Generally those who suffer from the disease have their first symptoms after the age of 50.

Brin is funding gene scans for 10,000 Parkinson’s patients at 23andMe Inc. The genetic testing lab was co-founded by Brin’s wife Anne Wojcicki. 23andMe has a simple mission, to be the world’s trusted source of personal genetic information.

That funding will enable the lab to study the 10,000 people that is hoped to take part in the research study. The Michael J Fox Foundation is working to recruit the test subjects. Once the 10,000 are found they will be able to have their DNA analyzed and then compared to healthy controls.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation reports:

“Exploring the potential of a Web-based approach to patient engagement for research purposes is well-aligned with our Foundation’s mission,” said Katie Hood, CEO of The Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Both the Foundation and 23andMe are undertaking a research project that could in time be the start of several types of research bases. All of this is coming from the private sector instead of the general academic world of research.

ABC reports:

“We just felt the research was advancing too slowly and in reality, to make significant discoveries in health care, it’s a data problem and we don’t have enough data,” says Anne Wojcicki, from 23andMe.

It is hoped that the study will discover the genetic variations that are commonly associated with those who have the disease.

ABC reports:

“So once we find out why some people are susceptible to getting Parkinson’s, we can learn more about what factors may actually cause that Parkinson’s to develop,” says Melanie Brandabur, M.D., the clinic director of the Parkinson’s Institute.

Because of the funding patients will only have to pay $25 for the scan. The usual cost of such extensive scanning costs $399. For the fee those involved with the study will also know matching it to the likelihood of developing 105 diseases. The small fee also will ensure that those involved with the study have an interest in the outcome.

Says Ms. Wojcicki:

“We want to screen individuals who take an interest, so having some sort of barrier where they pay a nominal amount should weed out the individuals who just pick it up because it’s free,” she said. “We want to make sure it’s a community of individuals who are really vested.

“Basic discoveries can definitely lead to new treatments, and we hope any information we find gets used for new therapies.

“Secondly, if there is a genetic component to Parkinson’s, nothing is more profitable to individuals than helping out their children.”

The study is not like most clinical studies. First of all the company is not a standard research lab. Participant driven research is a new way to look at a disease. First off those in the study will be receiving information on their DNA. It will allow academic scientists to ethically obtain DNA research while those in the study also have a gain. A win-win combination.

Any discoveries from this study will be made available to other researchers

Was Robin Hood a Serial Robber?

It turns out stealing from the rich and giving to the poor did not endear Robin Hood to the monks. A manuscript dating to about 1460 owned by Eton College says that good ole Robin “infested” parts of England with “continuous robberies”.

Dr. Julian Luxford of St. Andrew’s University found the writings of a monk in a Latin inscription a piece that had been written into the margins of a book called the Polychronicon. He says it reveals a different Hood than the one legend speaks fondly of.

BBC reports:

“Rather than depicting the traditionally well-liked hero, the article suggests that Robin Hood and his merry men may not actually have been ‘loved by the good’.

“The new find contains a uniquely negative assessment of the outlaw, and provides rare evidence for monastic attitudes towards him.”

This manuscript is the first English chronicle that mentions the bandit known as Robin Hood. Three Scottish medieval authors have also been thought to place Robin in the time period.

The Daily Mail reports:

‘Some say he was pretty bad, but had some good qualities while others refer to him as a man of honour who robbed from the rich to give to the poor. This [entry] is just entirely negative.’

The passage is only 23 words long but may support that the legend is in deed fact.

A translation of the short inscription reads:
“Around this time, according to popular opinion, a certain outlaw named Robin Hood, with his accomplices, infested Sherwood and other law-abiding areas of England with continuous robberies.”

The new find contains a uniquely negative assessment of the outlaw, and provides rare evidence for monastic attitudes towards him.”

The finding may also settle the debate over where Robin and his band of Merry Men lived. Yorkshire has long claimed that the town hosted the bandits instead of Nottinghamshire of legend fame.

AP reports that the this gives Nottinghamshire the nod. At the time Sherwood Forest spanned across Nottinghamshire. The forest has since shrunk from 100,000 acres to a mere 450 acres.

“This is another piece of evidence from the Middle Ages showing he was from Sherwood,” Luxford said. “It strengthens that connection.”

An article about the finding will be published later this month in the Journal of Medieval History.

Update to First Baptist Church shooting

Terry J. Sedlacek was not considered a threatening young man. He worked at his family’s restaurant. On Monday he was charged in the alleged shooting death of a Baptist minister last Sunday.

There is still no known motive for the quiet young man from Troy, Illinois to allegedly murder in cold blood Rev. Fred Winters. The 27-year-old though had marked the day in his day planner as “death day.” That leads investigators to believe that the attack was planned out in advance. When Sedlacek was captured he had enough ammunition to kill 30 people.

Newser reports:

“The only thing I can really comment on is he came armed with many rounds of ammunition and a knife, and I think we can surmise that more bloodshed may have occurred,” Mudge said.

On Tuesday Sedlacek still laid in Saint Louis University Hospital’s intensive-care unit. He was being treated for the stab wound in his neck that he inflicted upon himself. He was finally released on Thursday night to the Madison County Jail’s medical wing. He is being held without bond.

Ron Slemer of Glen Carbon, entered the plea of not guilty earlier this week on his behalf of his client, has since left the case. On Friday the public defender took over the case. Slemer had already filed motions to receive evidence of medical and mental health reports that may be in the state files.

During Friday’s court preceding Sedlacek watched on a live video feed from the jail. When asked questions the suspect nodded and clenched his fists. He was joined by a public defender and two deputies while wearing a blue robe.

BND reports:

Madison County Sheriff Robert Hertz declined to say whether Sedlacek will be under a suicide watch, but added, “We’re going to have him under pretty constant observation, at least through the weekend.”

Associate Judge James Hackett told the recovering man that he is charged with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery.

There has been some media speculation that Lyme Disease could be a motivating factor in this case. That is not likely to prove a serious cause of the suspect’s problems.

Newser reports:

But Dr. Eugene Shapiro, a Lyme disease expert at Yale University, said it would be unlikely that the tick-borne illness would make someone so violent. “Lyme disease doesn’t cause people to shoot people,” Shapiro said.

Wall Street Journal editor being sued for contempt of court

A Wall Street Journal editor has been sued for contempt of court in Singapore. The lawsuit stems from three articles last year on the city-state’s judiciary.

Melanie Kirkpatrick, deputy editor of the Journal’s editorial page, is being sued by the Attorney-General’s office in Singapore. High Court Justice Tay Yong Kwang approved the application for the lawsuit allowing it to precede to court. The courts are also proceeding on contempt charges against the newspaper’s international editor Daniel Hertzberg and managing editor Christine Glancey.

The Attorney-General has alleged that the three articles “contained passages that scandalize the Singapore judiciary.” The news pieces were published in the Journal’s Asia edition in the editorials and opinion section.

The articles in question dealt with Democratic Party chief Chee Soon Juan and others having to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew damages for libel, a letter from Dr. Chee as a rebuttal of the first editorial and an editorial on the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute’s report on the Singapore judiciary.

In November Justice Tay found the Journal in contempt of court fining it $16,250 for publishing the articles. It was the largest fine that the court’s have ever levied against a paper.

In the last few years Singapore’s leaders has sued journalists and political opponents for alleged defamation. The courts have ruled in favor of the leaders in these cases. Fines have been issued to Bloomberg, the Economist and the International Herald Tribune from these lawsuits.

Human Rights Watch called Singapore out last year on their use of defamation lawsuits as a means to stifle criticism and bankrupt opposition politicians.

Government leaders say that they are in their right to defend their personal and professional reputations. They say articles that speak out against them take away the respect that they need from the public and interferes with their ability to govern properly.

Arrest Warrant Issued For Lindsay Lohan

A warrant has been issued for actress Lindsay Lohan in Beverly Hills. It is believed the warrant is in connection with her 2007 drunken driving conviction.

The Beverly Hills police issued a statement reports VH1:

“In response to media inquiries, [the] Beverly Hills Police Department is confirming a warrant was in fact issued today [March 13] for the arrest of Lindsay Lohan. The $50,000 warrant issued by the Beverly Hills Superior Court stems from a May 2007 arrest of Miss Lohan for DUI and hit-and-run. The circumstances leading to the issuance of the warrant by the court are not readily available at this time. It is our hope that Miss Lohan will surrender herself so that this matter will be resolved in a timely manner.”

The warrant may be from Lohan violating terms of her probation some speculate. TMZ.com attempted to discuss the matter with the actress Friday night but she refused to comment. She has since issued a statement through Perez Hilton’s web site:

In an exclusive statement to PerezHilton.com, Lindsay says, “This warrant for my arrest is completely fabricated and its a horrendous lie. This will make me loose every single deal that I have right now. Its horrible.”

The arrest in 2007 was a result of a car chase involving the mother of Lohan’s former assistant and the actress. At the time of her arrest she tested positive for .02 grams of cocaine according to the DA’s office press release.

Lohan could face jail time if she indeed has violated the terms of her probation.

After 20 years man walks because of spider bite

For twenty years David Blancarte was stuck in a wheel chair after a motorcycle accident at 21 left him a paraplegic. He’s walking again because of a Brown Recluse Spider.

For twenty years David had no feelings in his legs. Eight months ago a spider bite sent him to hospital and then rehab where a nurse noticed a muscle spasm.

That spasm was the miracle of life as David’s nerves started waking up.

A nurse zapped his legs according to David and he felt it. Five days later he was up and walking.

The Manteca Bulletin reports:

“For someone who was only in his 20s when he became paraplegic, he retained a good attitude—always smiling,” Wilson said. “He has been given back his hope. Thanks to the strong will of ‘Mr. B’ and the drive of our rehab staff, we’ve all had the pleasure of witnessing a true miracle.”

Today the former dancer knows it’s not a dream to walk his twin 14-year-old daughters down the aisle someday, it’s his reality.

His reality sadly isn’t all roses. Blancarte was arrested on a domestic violence warrant on Friday. He’s still in jail.

Feeling The Economic Pinch- US Museums

As the economic crisis continues museums in the United States are feeling the pinch. New York and Philadelphia are both slashing jobs, salaries and closing up shops as their endowments are being hit hard.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is down to only eight stores of their 23 across the United States. By July 21 ten percent of their work force will have been handed a pink slip.

Founded almost 130 years ago the museum has lost about $800 million since mid-2008 from their endowments. The Met is a nonprofit that survives only with the help of endowment, government aid, private donations and admission revenues.

On Friday The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia frozen hiring and announced that salaries would be slashed by 5 percent. In early 2008 the museum had $60 million in endowments, today that figure is less than $40 million.

People have had to stop coming to museums as wallets shrink. Even foreign tourist are shying away from the suggested $20 donation for admission fee.

In Toledo, Ohio the museum is also having to make staff cuts to stay afloat. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland has had to stop plans to build a new home until the economy recovers.

Across the country museums are having to let their staff go or cut salaries.

The super wealthy that funds museums are having to tighten their belts as their money is flying away quickly. Without the funding could the United States soon be without the culture that comes from a trip to the museum?

Perhaps it is time for people to skip a movie and take their family to see live action art in it’s glory. Wait to long and the art may no longer be available for viewing.

Laura Archer-What An Angel Heart Looks Like

Laura Archer viewed her life in Africa as an eye opening experience when interviewed last August by the Montreal Gazette. She may be free tonight after being a hostage for two days in Darfur where the nurse works with Doctors Without Borders.

Laura Archer, 31, and two other foreign workers were taken by gunpoint on Wednesday at a North Darfur medical clinic.

In an interview last summer with Enterprise magazine she revealed that a horrible car crash on Highway I-40 from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 2002 was her wake-up call. She decided that she wanted her life to mean something.

She decided in 2004 that she wanted to learn about the world outside North America. She sold all of her things and bought a backpack boarding a plane. She was in Thailand when the tsunami struck. Seeing the little that was being done she flew to India and set up a make shift clinic on a beach near a village that has been hard hit by the tsunami. She lived there for three weeks.

She had found her calling.

The Toronto Star reports:

“Through this experience,” she wrote in the alumni magazine article, “the difference between being a tourist and a humanitarian became apparent to me – and I knew which I wanted to be.”

In 2005 Archer returned to Canada to apply to Doctors Without Borders and has never looked back.

Archer has worked in two other African locations in the Central African Republic and in Chad. Both nations take in thousands of refugees from the Darfur region. This is her fourth African mission in three years.

The National Post quotes the young nurse:

“People have asked me if my experiences in Africa have made me more cynical or perhaps jaded,” she said. “I don’t think so. I guess I’ve lost my rose-coloured glasses and now things — both positive and negative – are a bit more clear.”

When she’s at home Archer paints. Last August she was promoting an exhibit of her worked titled Facing Africa. She had 26 portraits of displaced people that she had painted while on the continent. She uses her art to tell the stories of those she encounters; child soldiers stung out on cocaine, pregnant women picking berries to survive.

Archer’s father in Charlottetown said he was still in shock that his daughter was kidnapped. Her boyfriend Carlos Beranquez was also stunned by the news that his girlfriend who has been in Darfur since October 2008 was taken.

Saraf Omra where the Doctors Without Borders clinic is located is one of the most dangerous areas of Darfur.

“She is well versed in the region,” said McHarg, who has herself worked as a nurse in Sudan. “She was working with Sudanese staff to provide basic health care . . . The needs are just amazing and when you’re there, doing the work, it’s so important. The people you meet are so lovely and knowing that such good people are facing such tragedy . . . I think our teams are really dedicated.”

The charity has faced other kidnappings in the past. They have all ended with success for the staff of the group.

Archer is due back to Canada in April.

The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs has been seeking confirmation that Archer and the others are free.

CBC reports:

“Canadian officials are in close contact with Médecins Sans Frontières, the UN, and Sudanese officials,” spokesman Daniel Barbarie said in an email, according to the Canadian Press. “We stand ready to provide consular assistance and support.”

The workers have reportedly been rescued yet the charity has yet to speak to them.

CBC also quotes with a spokesperson with Doctors Without Borders:

“We have not yet seen our colleagues, nor have we had the chance to speak with them since we heard that they were being released,” said spokeswoman Naomi Sutorius-Lavoie.

Baby With Two Penises Survives Surgery

A Russian baby boy had surgery to correct massive birth defects. The child identified only as Artyom G. was born with two penises, no bladder, and no abdominal wall.

The operation took place at St Vladimir’s Children’s Clinical Hospital.

Doctors combined the two penises into a single organ. It is believed that the little boy will have a normal sex life when he’s older and will be able to father children.

Called fetus in fetu (FIF), the condition is very rare. It is caused by an unusual cause of retroperitoneal abdominal mass in infants. It is more common with girls.

The Telegraph reports:

“The surgery was complicated. We had to form one penis out of two, make the abdominal wall and create a bladder,” said a doctor involved in the five hour operation.

“When our colleagues asked for help we said yes immediately but we couldn’t imagine the case would be so complicated.”

Last June a baby in China was born with two penises. The second sex organ was on his back. The infant lives in Hejian city in central China’s Henan province.

Today Show To Be Close To Home For Lauer’s Yearly Vacation Series

The recession is grounding Matt Lauer’s annual world tour for the Today show. Every year Lauer goes on a mystery trip in May to promote tourism. This year the trip will be close to home.

The producers felt sending their head news man out on an exotic adventure would be sending the wrong message to their viewers.

This year’s version will still give Lauer a chance to explore in May. He will be hitting hot spots in the United States to give viewers a more economical vacation idea.

Lauer will not be alone this time around either as Meredith Vieira, Al Roker and Ann Curry pack their bags to join the vacation fun.

The decision to change the format this year comes from the viewers. Over the past few weeks viewers have been asked where to send Lauer for his yearly action packed trip. The viewers loudly made it known that staying in the country during the recession would be a more practical choice. From the viewers reaction will come May’s “TODAY Takes a Vacation.”

This will be the third time the four anchors have taken a trip together. In 2008 they wend on a winter break to Sugarbush, Vermont, and Miami Beach. Later last year they all hit Beijing to cover the Olympic Games.

Expedia.com will sponsor this year’s trip. MSNBC reports

“We are proud to sponsor the ‘TODAY’ show’s all-American trip and hope their travels to some of America’s most beautiful destinations will inspire viewers as they plan their own trips this year. Expedia.com is helping make travel even more affordable this spring by waiving booking fees on all flights and offering free nights at hundreds of hotels across America,” said VP of Brand Marketing Paul Leonard.

Doctors Without Borders Hostages Have Been Rescued

Three foreign workers for Doctors Without Borders are safe after two days of being hostages. The Italian Foreign Ministry has yet to talk to any of the hostages.

Deseret News reports that official word has come from the kidnappers and the Sudanese authorities that the three hostages are free and unharmed. A Sudanese staffer was also with the foreign workers when they were released.

No further details are being provided from the Sudanese Foreign Ministry.

The ministry asked for a news blackout on the kidnapping on Friday while the officials worked on their release.

While it is not known who the kidnappers are on Thursday North Darfur’s governor said they were bandits looking for a cash ransom.

More news will follow as it becomes available.

FDA Approves the Next-Gen Female Condom

The FDA has just approved the next-gen female condom. This is a dream come true for public health advocates who have touted that the birth control is a way to protect women from the HIV virus.

Soon women whose partners refuse to use a condom can reach into their bags for an affordable ‘rubber’ of their own. The female condom has been on the market for 16 years but the cost has always been much higher than a male condom. It still is at $2.80 to $4 a piece. With the FDA approval for a next-gen female condom that price may change to just about 60 cents.

PR Newswire reports:

“We join women around the world in applauding the FDA’s swift action to approve the FC2 female condom,” stated Serra Sippel, executive director of the Center for Health and Gender Equity. “The HIV pandemic among women requires increased investment in woman-centered prevention options, and FC2 approval is an important step forward in putting the power of prevention in women’s hands.”

The next-gen condom is made out of synthetic nitrile, a product much less expensive for Chicago-based Female Health Company to produce.

Scientific America reports:

“Having a less expensive Female Condom increases the probability of women who need it having access to it,” Mary Ann Leeper, the company’s senior strategic adviser, told Reuters after the FDA approved the FC2 on Wednesday.

The female condom works much like a male condom. Covering the cervix, it open with a ring that protects the outside of the vagina. It is about 6.5 inches long. The newer version will look the same but be made with the less expensive rubber.

So far the United Nations has distributed the original version to 142 countries. Some women have said that the condom is ugly and that it makes squeaking sounds. In the product information pamphlet it is recommended that women use the product three times before making a final decision on it. Because the outer ring is visible partners know that the birth control is being used.

The female condom has potential in saving lives. It gives women the power to protect themselves from the HIV virus and birth control. It is the only birth control that is made for women that blocks the virus from the body.

Prevention Now reports:

“Female condoms are a vital tool for prevention, women’s empowerment and communication between
partners, and in Zimbabwe, we greatly welcome this decision by the U.S. FDA,” said Edinah Masiyiwa,
executive director of Women’s Action Group (WAG) – Zimbabwe. “Women and men alike benefit
from the female condom, with regard to their health, happiness and pleasure.”

It may take up to a year for the next-gen condom to be on the market. Advocates are pushing for the United States government to react quickly though to ensure rapid expansion for female condom distribution and education.

“We praise Congress for including specific references to female condoms, as both male and female condoms are safe and effective HIV prevention tools that are available to women and men today. We now look to the next leader of the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator to ensure that female condoms are truly available, accessible and well-programmed for women and men worldwide,” said Serra Sippel.

For more information on the fight against AIDS sign up at Prevention Now. Net.

10 Children Served Windshield Cleaner At Arkansas Day Care

Ten children in Little Rock, Arkansas are recovering after drinking windshield wiper fluid. The children were served the liquid at their daycare by a staffer.

Doctors estimate that the children, aged 2 to 7, consumed an ounce of the fluid late Thursday afternoon before discovering that it tasted funny. One child remains in hospital with ‘measurable levels’ of methanol. The highly toxic alcohol can result in comas and cause blindness.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

“All we know was that the individual at the day care had recently shopped and had come back to the day care with a lot of different products,” Laura James, a pediatric pharmacologist and toxicologist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock told The Associated Press. “This product was mistakenly grabbed and thought to be Kool-Aid and put in the refrigerator.”

The name of the center is not being named by either Laura James or the state Department of Human Service. DHS investigators will be visiting the day care center on Friday.

AP reports:

“It has not been reported to us yet,” DHS spokeswoman Julie Munsell said Friday morning. “Either it happened and they didn’t report as they should have … or it happened after business hours.”

Antifreeze and windshield wiper fluid are easily mistaken for fruit drinks by children. That mistake can be deadly. Always make sure to store these and other poisonous products where children can not get into them.

Recession Pinch Hits Summer Camps

There may be more family time this summer as summer camps begin to feel the pinch of the recession. Bonuses that used to pay the high camp fees are disappearing and as they do so are the funds for weeks away for the kids.

Camps are still enrolling children, but they are doing later enrollments than usual this year says a Wall Street Journal article. Peg Smith of the American Camp Association said that the 2,900 camps in their membership are expecting more demand for financial aid.

Some families are opting for less expensive versions of camp; day-camps. These tend to be run by nonprofits like the YMCA.

At Bunk1.com the numbers are clear. There has already been a drop of 10% to 15% less registrations for private summer camps this year. Nonprofit camps are seeing a rise in registrations.

The Kansas City Star reports that it is clear that while parents are still looking to send their children to camp this year they are budget shopping.

http://www.kansascity.com/842/story/1071924.html

“They want to make sure their kids aren’t sitting home all day playing video games this summer,” said Pam Watkins, director of operations for the YMCA of Greater Kansas City, which offers camp sessions all summer.

“Parents are absolutely going to cut back on summer vacations and weekend excursions, but as far as camp for their kids, it’s the one thing they’re willing to put the money out there for.”

Families may wait until later in the season to register their children hoping for deals that other years would not be available.

That may be a wise gamble. If the camps can’t fill their bunks they will have to be more flexible to survive.

Some camps are offering shorter seasons at their regular day cost. In the past The Aloha Beach Camp, a water-sports camp in Los Angeles, required a stay of at least 12 days at $107 per day. Last year they lowered the minimum to 5 days. This year if all a family can afford is two days they can get a two day spot.

Other camps are offering ‘early bird specials’ with discounts. That is what Berkshire Hills Emanuel Camps in Copake, N.Y. did this year for families signing up last summer. Instead of the $6,500 per child the cost in March was $6,100 for a full summer session.

Many camps offer ‘camperships’ for children who qualify for financial aid.

The UJA-Federation of New York will give $1,250 for kids attending a Jewish sleep away camp for the first time and $750 for the second time.

Not all camps can afford to offer funding. The River City Youth Foundation, an Austin, Texas, nonprofit, had funding cuts this year. The city says the camp should be spared but it is still dicey for the kids who could be attending a free summer day camp. If the funding doesn’t come through than low-income, at-risk children in Austin will not have the camping experience.

The National Camp Association and summercamps.com can help you do an online search for the camp that fits your families needs.

Some families have decided to have a family vacation this year instead of camp. With high session costs it is just more practical.

Adult acne and the recession

If the recession wasn’t bad enough, now comes news there are outbreaks coming. On your face, that is. Adult acne can flare up during times of stress.

The leading cause of adult acne is stress. Dr. Katie Rodan of Oakland, California has been seeing more of her patients for the skin condition. Many of the doctor’s patients are in the financial field or has a spouse in the biz.

Across the country in New York, Manhattan dermatologist Dr. Cheryl Karcher is seeing a slew of clients. They are in for eczema, acne and warts which are all covered by insurance. The clients have been cutting back on the botox and liposuction however. Insurance doesn’t generally cover the elective procedures.

Skin is a barometer of the emotions. When anxiety levels are high it tends to break out much more often.

Karcher says that products with salicylic acid or glycolic acid can help to unclog pores.

Campbell Child Custody Case In Court Today, No Ruling As Of Yet

The three Campbell children with Nazi inspired names are in the news again. The Family Court in Hunterdon County was to decide if the children could return home.

The children were removed from their home in January. Their father believes that removal was due to the publicity stemming from a supermarket’s refusal to decorate a birthday cake with the name of son Adolf Hitler Campbell, 3.

The children; Adolf Hitler Campbell, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell have been in protective custody since that time. They were placed in the same foster family.

The parents left the court Thursday afternoon with no word on if they will have their children returned. Their lawyer Pasquale Giannetta, said he’s “pretty confident” that the judge will in the end rule in favor of the parents.

NJ.com reports:

DYFS spokeswoman Kate Bernyk said the agency takes custody of children only “when there’s an imminent danger to a child.”

Mother Deborah Campbell says that there were false allegations of abuse reported by a neighbour.

NJ.com reported in January:

“My husband and I would never abuse our children, and he would never harm anybody,” Deborah Campbell told the newspaper. Campbell said a neighbor made allegations that the children had been abused and that Campbell’s husband, Heath Campbell, had abused her.

There were previous domestic abuse allegations against Heath Campbell during a prior marriage.

There is no word as to when the final decision will be made.

German Message Board Chat In Tim Kretschmer Case Faked

It has been revealed that a chatroom conversation with Tim Kretschmer has some serious doubts as to being real. This leaves investigators with no motive of the German tragedy.

According to Times Online the moderator of Krautchan.net says that the message was a faked image file posted three hours after the time that Kretschmer committed suicide.

“I even know who posted it, and he’s from Dusseldorf. That’s not even near Baden-Wuerttemberg.”

The posts on the site are easily traced by the moderator. In this case the “fake” message was timestamped at 2:45 AM and carried the ID code 485465.

A translation from German to English of the lead post at the tiny site reads as follows:

Unfortunately our tiny server with the momentary attack does not become finished. There is not to see however also nothing at all, there the German press regrettably (probably not for the first time) of a falsification be been deceptive could. Here no Amoklauf was announced, it gives here only people, which can deal with Photoshop. Is apparent investigate nowadays uncool. Badly enough to copy with Wikipedia but here? More basicgood-naturedly. Which one wants by the way to have found on the PC of the author, we do not know. Perhaps it visited the Site times, did not write that by the press contribution gone it anyhow, because never existed to that. (Here is screen SHOT of the rather unspektakulären original, that to absolutely nothing with Amokläufen to do has.) As also is, we is off-lines, until the Traffic normalized itself. Who does not believe us yet, times cache can to look, and the post office ID compare in googles.

Interpol is investigating the matter. Earlier today a Bavarian youth is said to have chatted online with the teen accused of being the gunman of yesterday’s Germany’s high school attack.

Sky News printed some of the alleged text that came from a father of a teenager in Bavaria:

“I’ve had enough,” Kretschmer apparently wrote.

“Everybody’s laughing at me. No one sees my potential. I’m serious. I have weapons and I will go to my former school in the morning and have a proper barbecue

“Maybe I’ll get away. Listen out. You will hear of me tomorrow. Remember the place’s name: Winnenden.”

The text may be genuine. If they are a forgery then investigators are back to square one in finding a motive for the shootings.

Ransom Demanded For Doctors Without Border Hostages

The kidnappers of three employees of Doctors Without Borders has demanded a ransom for their return. The hostages have been on the phone with authorities, confirming that they are alive. The kidnappers have stated they do not want to harm the aid workers.

News 24 reports that North Darfur governor Osman Kebir has spoken to both the kidnappers and the hostages by telephone.

“Negotiations with the abductors are progressing well and could result in the release of the victims soon”, Kebir said according to the reports.

According to Kebir the kidnappers are not interested in harming the aid workers.

One of those being held is Canadian nurse, Laura Archer. Ms. Archer is from Prince Edward Island. She now lives in Montreal.

The other hostages are Italian doctor Mauro D’Ascanio and French field coordinator Raphael Meunier.

This is the first abduction of Westerns in the region.

The Toronto Star reports:

“We can confirm that a group of armed men went to the location and ordered five persons to follow them. They were three international staff and two national staff,” said Kemal Saiki, communications director for UNAMID peacekeepers in Darfur. UNAMID said the kidnapping took place late yesterday.

The workers were taken from a clinic in Saraf Omra. The health clinic and dispensary serving tens of thousands of people and is run by MSF Belgium.

The Star quotes Susan Sandars, an MSF spokeswoman in Nairobi, Kenya.

“We have managed to have a contact with the staff themselves,” said McHarg. “They were given a phone to use (Wednesday) night… We did get confirmation that they were OK, they were in good health, that they were together and that they were being well-treated.”

Doctors Without Borders is still concerned for their safety, McHarg said.

“Our concern as well is for the families and what they’re going through, and of course what it will eventually mean for the populations and the people that we’ve been there to try and help,” she said.

The kidnapping is liable to change the policies of aid workers in the Darfur region. Already Sudan’s President Al-Bashir has ordered 13 aid groups out of his country last week because of an international warrant was issued for him. The president has been charged with war crimes that are the root of at least 200,000 people being killed in Darfur since 2003.

MSF Belgium was not among the aid groups that were expelled.

Take My Wife Please Ad Placed In the Free To Collect Section

There’s an ad out in the UK that shouldn’t get that many offers but it has! A frustrated hubby has put his wife up for for someone to take off of his hands. The newlywed hubby placed the ad as a joke.

Gary Bates, 38, put wife Donna in an ad on Trade-It. The ad magazine is more in gear for getting rid of used cars and household goods.

The self-employed builder from Gloucestershire decided to place the ad when he got on his nerves while she was watching the boob tube.

“Nagging Wife. No Tax, No MOT (roadworthy certificate). Very high maintenance —some rust.

Bates is quotes by Times of India:

“She was nagging me for doing something small, while she was watching some rubbish on TV. So I just thought I’d put an ad in to get rid of her.

“I didn’t think anyone would ring up but I’ve had at least nine or 10 people calling about her. It’s gone mad. There was no one I knew — just people asking, ‘Is she still available?’”

He also placed an ad to sell his fishing tackle. The ad for Donna was in the Free to Collect section.

The couple are newlyweds having married just last year. They had been together for six years before they wed. Says Donna:

“I don’t think I do nag him — we’re newlyweds. He just doesn’t do what I want him to, that’s all”, Donna said.

Donna found out about the ad when she was looking through the magazine the next week. When she spotted it she asked if it she was the wife. After a bit of ‘ear-bashing’ the pair laughed over the joke.

Mr. Bates may have to be watching his back a bit nowadays, his missus is out for a spot of revenge says ITN.

“I said to him, ‘Someone’s put their wife in there! That wasn’t you, was it?’ He just smiled because he’s a dark horse. I couldn’t believe it.

“Revenge will be sweet though, and I’ve got something planned for him soon.”

Prince William Says Mother’s Day Is A Day Of Emptiness For Him

Prince William admits Mother’s Day carries a sense of ‘emptiness’ for him. William was just 16 when Princess Diana died along with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed after a Paris car accident.

Today the future king took the role of patron to The Child Bereavement Charity, which Diana supported.

Nine MSN reports:

“Losing a close family member is one of the hardest experiences that anyone can ever endure,” he said. “Never being able to say the word ‘mummy’ again in your life sounds like a small thing.

“However, for many, including me, it’s now really just a word – hollow and evoking only memories.

“I can therefore wholeheartedly relate to the Mother’s Day campaign as I too have felt – and still feel – the emptiness on such a day as Mother’s Day.”

The charity is launching a Mother’s Day campaign to remind people how hard Mother’s Day can be on children who have lost their mothers and mothers who have lost their children.

The prince has been training to become a search and rescue helicopter pilot in the Royal Air Force.

In Britain March 22 is Mother’s Day.

As William was reflecting on mother’s the news stands have been going crazy with speculations that he will wed Kate Middleton this summer.

The Daily Mail is reporting that the prince proposed to Kate around the time of her 27th birthday in January.

‘She is treated by the staff with the kind of deference reserved for members of the family,’ an insider said. ‘Everyone thinks she and William are a done deal.’

Toronto Criminal Injuries Compensation Board awards woman $4,000

In March 2007 Nimo Gulleid thought nothing of a heated conversation she and another lady were having before stepping onto a TTC bus in Toronto. She didn’t notice the bus stopping and Toronto police boarding either until they stopped in front of her.

Gullied was on her way to the University of Toronto where she was a student when her life changed. The police officers in front of her demanded to see the gun she was carrying. She had no idea what they were talking about.

The Star quotes Gullied recollection of the event:

“What gun? I don’t have a gun,” Gulleid said she told police, relaying her version of the events to the Star this week.

Unbeknown to the student the woman she had talked to at the bus stop had told the bus driver that Gulleid was packing a gun.

The police grabbed Gulleid, 37, and drug her off the back of the bus at Bloor St. W. and Symington Ave. There people watched as the police pushed her to the ground. As her head scarf came off her head she had the eyes of strangers on her. The police searched her person and dumped the contents of her purse onto the grass.

The police did not bother to listen to her side of the story. They also didn’t find a gun. There never was one.

The police then took the woman to Saint Joseph’s Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. They believed that she was a threat to herself or to others.

Saint Michael’s Hospital found that the woman has “soft tissue injuries to her arms, neck and back” and she suffered from anxiety and stress. It was at hospital when Gullied was finally informed what had started the incident.

That conversation at the bus stop had been over religion. The woman that had told the driver had recently left the Muslim faith. She made a comment that all Muslims were terrorists and gun carriers. Gullied then criticized the woman’s ‘Christian kindness.’

The woman entered the bus after Gullied and told the bus driver that Gullied had a gun and was going to shoot everyone. The bus driver did his job, he called for police protection for the passengers on his bus.

Gullied is not angry at the woman though, she blames the police.

“If they had just listened to me on the bus, things would have never gone this far,” said Gulleid, now finishing her teacher’s college degree. “But the embarrassing thing is how they dealt with me in a public space. How they humiliated me.”

Last month the incident was heard in detail in front of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. Guilleid was awarded $4,000 dollars after it was found that even when no gun was found on the Applicant the use of excessive force persisted.” Ms. Gulleid she declared a “victim of a crime of assault.”

The decision had to be based solely on Gulleid’s testimony and hospital records. The police refused to share any information concerning the incident.

Police records produced by Barry Swadron, Gulleid’s lawyer showed that Gulleid was “very loud and aggressive towards the officers” and refused to take her hands out of her pockets. The records also state that she was handcuffed and searched for those around the scene and her own safety.

The police said yesterday though there were no requests for information.

Gullied didn’t have the means to pursue the case. Her friends told her about the compensation board.

“It was not about the money. I had so much anger about how I was treated unfairly, that I had to do something,” said Gulleid. “The most painful component was it was by the people who were in a position of authority.”

Grab A Camera, There’s Money In The Web

More and more people are selling their snapshots online. When a picture can bring in hundreds of dollars in a time of economical crisis this is a bit of good news for shutterbugs who sell their pictures as stock photography.

Popular Flickr has an alliance with Getty. Getty owns iStockphoto.com. Selling a photo to the stock site can bring in the big bucks.

When the alliance with Getty happened in July some 10,000 Flickr photos were selected for Getty. Getty goes for the professional photos but iStockphoto.com is geared for non-pros are the smaller company that needs a stock photo.

Right now don’t expect to just sign up and make the big bucks from your FlickR collections. This is an invitation-only process.

If you think your photos have the muster be sure to get model releases from those you take a snap of. Your eye needs to be geared to commercial ideals. It’s more consumer science that art at times.

USA Today reports:

“There’s a huge difference between Venice, Italy, and Venice, Calif.,” he says. “We want to see real people in real situations. One of the criticisms of stock photography is that it’s too ’set up.’ “

Getty was wise getting with FlickR. With the millions of images readily available they have a huge amount of quantity to choose from.

“Flickr was a major threat, because it has so many photos — more than all the agencies put together,” Lee Torrens, a blogger who runs the Microstock Diaries blog, says. “By joining with Flickr, Getty heads off any competitors getting a deal.”

At iStockphoto.com a photographer can make between 20% and 40% on royalties. The upper tier is for exclusivity.

To have your photos on the site you have to apply at iStockphoto.com:

Anyone can apply to become a photographer on iStockphoto. Contributors will be asked to read through our online training manual which is found by clicking the “Upload” link. Once that’s complete, you will need to answer a few questions and then upload a piece of government issued identification in the form of a JPEG. We require this to confirm who you are and that you’re of legal age. Finally, you will be asked to submit 3 sample images which will be reviewed by our inspection team. We will notify you of our decision via email or you may review the status of your application by clicking the “Upload” link again.

Five Doctors Without Borders Workers Kidnapped In Darfur

Five people from Doctor’s Without Borders were kidnapped from the Darfur region of Sudan on Wednesday. The kidnapping comes a week after President al-Bashir expelled aid groups in response to the ICC’s issuing of an arrest warrant.

A spokesperson for U.N. peacekeepers said that the kidnapping took place in north Darfur, about 125 miles west of al-Fasher. They and one Sudanese worker were taken from their office on Wednesday. The Sudanese worker was later released.

The Italian branch of Doctors Without Borders said that one Italian national, one French national and one Canadian national were among those taken. It is said that two Sudanese national were immediately released. The discrepancy in the numbers has not been explained.

The 13 aid groups that were expelled were told to leave Darfur by March 5. Doctors Without Borders had already pulled out its Dutch and French operations in Darfur but the Swiss and Spanish branches of the aid group are still offering care in the region.

Military wives and surrogacy

When the times are hard it seems Army wives know how to bring a little more bacon home. Some military wives are taking on more than just the home, they are carrying other couple’s babies to buy the bills.

An LA Times report that some wives have used the insurance as military wives to become surrogate mothers. Tricare requires that surrogates pay for prenatal care but it’s hard to prove that a woman is indeed a surrogate. Privacy laws prevent Tricare to prevent the company from demanding that women disclose that type of information.

One wife, Angel Howard, who is a surrogate believes that military wives have paid their premiums and have earned the right to use those benefits.

“If our husbands are putting their necks on the line in Iraq or wherever they happen to be at that point in time, we should be able to do what we want with our insurance,” she said as she sat in her living room, with Brian staring down at her from the family portrait in his dress whites. “We’re going through a lot here and if we’re trying to do something for our families and other families, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with that.”

She’s on her third try. The first time she didn’t conceive. The second she had a miscarriage. She is now carrying twins due Oct. 15.

Since 2003 agencies reported a significant increase in the number of wives of soldiers and naval personnel. While there are relatively few surrogate births in the United States it can be an attractive chance for a woman to make a little extra money and help a childless couple out. That little extra can at times equal more than their husband’s pay check.

Newsweek reports:

“Military wives can’t sink their teeth into a career because they have to move around so much,” says Melissa Brisman of New Jersey, a lawyer who specializes in reproductive and family issues, and heads the largest surrogacy firm on the East Coast. “But they still want to contribute, do something positive. And being a carrier only takes a year—that gives them enough time between postings.”

With the advancements of IVF technology some clinics such as Genetics & IVF Institute in Virginia can boast a 70 to 90 percent success rate.

Those are very good odds. Women who don’t get pregnant are still given a fee for undergoing the treatments. It’s not that much but it’s enough to help with a bill or two. Of course not every woman is in it for the money. Most are offering their wombs to help another family out. It just can help their expenses at the same time.

Man Survives Suicide Attempt At Horseshoe Falls

Wednesday night a man climbed over the guard wall at Horseshoe Falls and jumped into the Niagara River. Somehow the man survived falling over the waterfalls.

Niagara Parks Police Chief Doug Kane said the American man believed to be in his late 30’s refused medical assistance at the bottom of the falls. He is only the third person known to live through a plunge over the 180 foot falls in recent years. It is thought that the man was attempting to end his life.

Rescue crews tried to help the man as he swam away from them. A helicopter was brought in and using the wind from the blades forced him to get close enough for rescuers to grab him.

CBC News reports:

“He wasn’t co-operative,” pilot Ruedi Hafen, owner of Niagara Falls Helicopter, told the Associated Press. “He didn’t try to be helpful. We had a sling on him, and he got out of it.”

The man was taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia and a head injury. He has since lapsed into unconsciousness and is in critical condition.

Years ago people would foolishly attempt to survive Horseshoe Falls inside a barrel. They often made it home in a coffin. Today such a stunt would get a person a fine, jail time or a spot six feet under.

Opinion: New Israeli Indoor Playground Comes With Rocket Warning

Israeli children have a safe place to play in Sderot. Inside a convert warehouse lies a fortified play area complete with soccer field. The play ground also has an alert system giving a 15-second warning if rockets are coming.

Welcome to a new world where children are forced to enjoy playing indoors, not because of the weather but because adults shoot rockets at each other.

The new indoor playground was opened on Tuesday in the southern Israeli town of Sderot. The town is often battered by rockets being fired at it by Palestinian militants in Gaza.

Canoe News reports:

“It’s an amazing thing. Until now, only the house and school were safe,” said Pesah Hajbi, a 43-year-old father of three. “It’s cold comfort,” he added. “If they don’t stop firing, at least there is a safe place to play.”

The centre cost $5 million and was funded by the Jewish Nation Fund- United States. The brightly coloured walls are anti-shock wave can comfortably house 500 people.

The building is divided into two sections. One is for the youngest players, the infants and toddlers of the town. The other side of the building will be used by school kids during the afternoon and other residents during the day and night.

The play areas allow the children to be kids, instead of prisoners trapped at home for fear of a bombing.

Parents of the town are grateful and yet a little sad that it has come to this. Kid are meant to be free and enjoy the sun while they run and scream with joy.

Canoe reports:

“It makes me happy but also sad,” Devora Biton, 43 said. “I’m glad the kids will have a place to go, but it means the kids will have to live under a reinforced roof, rather that play outside as they should.”

At least the children in this one town have a chance to experience a fraction of childhood. Is it wrong though to feel intense sadness that the adults of this world can’t get along well enough that our children have to play in fortresses with reinforced walls?

Are Bristol and Levi Over?

Bristol Palin is said to have ditched Levi Johnston, her infant son’s father. According to his sister the young father has been cut out of his child’s life.

Star reports:

“Levi tries to visit Tripp every single day, but Bristol makes it nearly impossible. She tells him he can’t take the baby to our house because she doesn’t want him around ‘white trash’!” Bristol won’t even allow him to watch the baby for a few hours — unless he’s babysitting!

Last month the teen said that she and Levi had planned on marrying once they were out of school.

This bit of news is likely to anger mother, Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. She has had harsh words in the past about the media and their coverage of her and her family. In particular bloggers irked her.

CBS 4 Denver reports:

Last February, mom Sarah Palin expressed her anger at media coverage of her candidacy, particularly “anonymous, pathetic bloggers” who she says spread falsehoods about her.

The Governor’s office has no comment.

A Sheriff Grieves In Alabama

Geneva County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Myers got the message on his phone Tuesday. He had no idea that the request to return home had to do with his wife and three children had been injured in one of the worst gun tragedies ever in Alabama.

He had another message, the a suspect was firing on an officer during a chase.

Those two messages were connected.

He drove to Reliable Metal Products where a gunman killed himself. The man left behind victims in four other locations.

Myers, himself is now a widow due to the gunman. His wife Andrea and 1 1/2-year-old daughter Corinne Gracy. Ella Kay, 3 months-old is in hospital with bullet wounds. Only his son, 4, escaped injury. He was found hiding in the home after the shooting.

CNN reports:

“He was present when it happened,” Myers said. “He knows something’s wrong. He asked where mama was, and I had to tell him she was with Jesus. This is going to take a long time to work through it.”

Wife Andrea was holding Ella Kay and visiting with neighbours when the gun man, now identified as Michael McLendon, opened fire.

The neighbours that were on the Myers porch knew McLendon. They were his relatives.

Sheriff Myer’s now is dealing with grief. Little Ella Kay will have surgery today in a Pensacola, Florida hospital to remove shrapnel near her femoral artery.

“It’s supposed to be me out here getting shot, not my family,” Myers said, speaking barely above a whisper. “I’d step out on the street any day and take a bullet for anybody in this community. Anybody. I take that risk when I go to work every day, I take that risk when I’m off.

“Nobody’s family should have this done,” he added, holding pictures of his wife and daughters.

Questions now are being asked as to why McLendon went on the rampage. All of the murders happened under an hour. That was four locations.

At one point McLendon was a police officer in Samson, one of the town’s in this tragedy. He failed to complete the ‘required training’ at the police academy in 2003 though according to police talking to CNN.

He “didn’t last a week and a half” at the police academy, according to Col. Christopher Murphy, director of the state’s Department of Public Safety. “He got no firearms training.”

AP reports:

The gunman had worked at Reliable Metal, said state Rep. Warren Beck, a Republican whose district includes Geneva.

“My secretary heard gunfire everywhere,” he said. “This is one of the most tragic events ever in Geneva County.”

The final carnage left dead and grieving in four towns.

McLendon started at the home he shared with his mother in Kinston. His mother’s remains were left in a burning home along with four dogs. She had been shot.

Samson saw other relatives and the Myer’s family gunned down.

He is also accused of shooting a man in a mobile home on his family member’s yard.

The last of McLendon’s victim were killed at a Big-Little Store service station. It appears this was a random shooting.

He fired onto the police that were in pursuit. His final stop was a business that had employed him in the past; Reliable plant in Geneva. There the police rammed his car forcing him to exit. He did so armed with what appeared to be an
16.

He entered the building and the police heard shots fired. The final death in the hour of carnage was his own.

Workers suspended for ‘Fight Club’ at Texas school for disabled

Staff at Corpus Christi State School in Corpus Christi are being accused of setting up a ‘Fight Club’ with the residents. Police say workers were encouraging residents to battle one another.

Police received a cell phone containing videos of the alleged abuse suspected to have taken place in the dorms last week. They are expecting to file arrest warrants in the case later this week for workers at Corpus Christi State School in Corpus Christi.

There are seven current staff members and four former employees being investigated on the alleged abuse.

CNN reports:

“This has been going on for some time,” Corpus Christi police Capt. Tim Wilson said. “That is what makes this an exceptional case. It is not the workers abusing the clients, so to speak. The workers are not hitting them, but they are allowing these clients to fight with each other, thereby endangering their well-being.”

“These people are charged with the care and custody of these clients, and they are exploiting (them),” he said.

Those involved will most likely be charged with injury of a disabled person, a third-class felony. The actual charges are being left up to the Nueces County District Attorney.

Straits Times reports:

‘It’s some of the worst child abuse I’ve seen in over 30 years,’ Corpus Christi Police Captain Tim Wilson said. ‘Sometimes we see isolated incidents. What’s appalling about this is that it appears to be organized.’

The videos that have been reviewed by the police show the alleged abuses taking place as far back as 2007. Most of the workers on the tapes have been identified.

Seven of the staff at the school are on paid emergency leave. They were placed on leave by the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services. Authorities have said that former staff may also be interviewed for the case.

The employees on leave are not allowed on the campus grounds. They are required, however, to show up at the gate each day they are on leave to sign in.

The New York Daily News reports:

“Any abuse or neglect of residents placed in our care will not be tolerated,” said Laura Albrecht, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services.

Texas is dealing with several abuse allegations against state school employees. A federal report from 2008 cited 53 deaths linked to preventable conditions within these schools. The report called the hundreds of reports that have been filed on cases of abuse and injuries to patients “disturbingly high.” Almost half of state facilities are in danger of losing government funding because of alleged abuses.

The state at this time does not require staff to have fingerprinting, background checks and random drug testing when hiring employees. That is measure up for the state Legislature. Lawmakers are also wanting to create an ombudsman to investigate injuries and deaths. Texas is considering having the proposed future ombudsman oversee a hot line for abuse-and-neglect calls.

US Embargo Against Cuba Will Be Partially Lifted

The US Congress has voted to partially ease restrictions on Cuba. The bill will allow those with relatives in Cuba to visit once a year and send more money to their relatives. The new bill was supported by two Cuban-American senators.

The law could be signed as early as today by Obama.

Other measures included will lift the embargo on foods and medicines. However, the embargo on other exports to Cuba will remain in place under the writing of this bill. During the bush Administration the 47-year trade embargo had been further tightened.

Sky News reports:

In Havana, teacher Hugo Alfonso said: “I’m happy they are easing the rules so the Cubans can come.

“Families should not have to suffer because of political disputes between governments.

“Cubans have suffered the embargo for many years and (President George W.) Bush tightened the rope.

“Now is the time to improve relations between the two countries,” he said.

The definition of ‘close relative’ will be redefined allowing Cuban-Americans to visit cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles, in addition to parents, grandparents, children and siblings. While in Cuba they will also be allowed to spend up to $179 a day. In addition they will be allowed to visit for longer than the current two week allowance.

Suspect kills 10 in Alabama including mother

At least ten people are dead after a gunman went on a two town shooting spree in southern Alabama. The suspect ended the carnage by killing himself at a warehouse after a police chase.

There are four separate locations police are investigating after a single gunman went on a murderous spree. In the end the shooter turned the gun on himself.

The New York Times reports:

“It is truly one of the most horrific things that anyone in law enforcement can remember in Alabama,” said Col. J. Christopher Murphy, the director of the state’s Department of Public Safety. “We’re still getting victims coming in.”

The first location was the suspect’s mother’s home where he burnt her house. Police have found her remains. It has yet to be said if the woman was shot.

The New York Times reports:

“A gunman went on a shooting spree and he killed his mother, so I’m told, and then stopped in Samson, Ala., where he killed eight people, some on the porch, some at a convenience store, some on the street,” said Mayor Wynnton Melton, of Geneva, Ala., whose police officers were involved in the chase.

Five people were killed in one home in Samson, Alabama. The gunman went to two more homes killing a person at each location. Coffee County Coroner Robert Preachers said that the victims at the home were the suspects grandparents, aunt, an uncle and a child. The suspect had been raised by his grandfather, Alfred White.

The gunman fired at a state trooper’s car seven times. The trooper was injured from broken glass from the windshield.

He was then chased by the police to Reliable Metal Products just north of Geneva. A statement by the police said he fired an estimated 30 rounds inside the location.

Another body has been found at the Big Little Store in Samson. A woman was found begin the gas pumps and the front door.

In the end nine were dead. The suspect then killed himself.

Sky News reports:

“There were nine dead,” said Angela Tobon, spokeswoman for the FBI in Mobile, Alabama, the nearest large city. “He (the shooter) encountered law enforcement … and he exchanged shots as he was shooting the entire way.”

The death toll has risen to ten since that statement was released.

Two of those listed as dead were the wife and child of a deputy sheriff from Geneva, Alabama.

Several others have been listed as wounded.

There is not motive known at this time for the shooting. The suspect has not been named by police.

PM Stephen Harper Says Canada Will Emerge Strong From Crisis

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper told those attending a luncheon in Brampton, Ontario that Canada will come out of the economic slump faster and stronger than the rest of the world.

Harper’s comments echo what experts in the financial world have been saying about Canada’s strong economic status.

The Prime Minister spoke to the Brampton and Mississauga boards of trade on Tuesday. The location for Harper’s first major speech on the recession was chosen because of southern Ontario region’s hard hit to the manufacturing sector.

CBC quotes Harper:

“We are responding with unprecedented speed because we are in a global recession, that has arrived with unprecedented speed,” he said.

“We are, as I’ve said, cutting bureaucratic red tape. And we need Parliament to cut its red tape, too. We cannot have the opposition in Parliament replacing bureaucratic red tape with political red tape.”

“Some in the opposition are even suggesting that the government should provide notice or even approval for each individual spending project,” said the prime minister.

“That is not realistic — ever. And certainly not realistic in today’s world.”

The speech differs from what Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told the Senate finance committee earlier in the day. Flaherty said that the economy will likely worsen with a rise in the coming months with unemployment. He urged the Senate to pass the current budget before next week’s vacation.

Canada’s current debt-to-GDP ratio is set as roughly 29 per cent. Estimations point to a rise of 32 per cent over the next three years as the nation will go into deficit to pay for stimulus spending.

While this is not good news it is much better than what other G7 countries could be facing. The average ratio for those nations is to rise above 50 per cent.

Harper had praise for the banking system in Canada. He reinforced that the World Economic Forum considers Canada as having the world’s strongest banking system.

“Ultimately, it is an opportunity to position ourselves so that when the recovery comes, we’re among the first to catch the wave.”

Canada was the last “advanced country” to fall into recession, he said.

“I say to you, as businesspeople, as community-builders, as citizens, if there ever was a time to put away that legendary Canadian modesty, it is now,” he told the audience, which responded with applause.

Harper has been credited with writing the 3,330 word speech himself. He only gave a small bit to the 1.3 million Canadians who are dealing with this crisis without a job. He mentioned improved unemployment benefits very briefly.

The government is due to issue its first quarterly report on its budget plan today.

Michael J. Fox Is The Optimist

Michael J. Fox has been off the air for a while dealing with Parkinson’s Disease and his foundation for the disease. He’s back though on ABC exploring the nature of optimism.

Fox will be exploring not only his own life but science as well.

Courant.com reports:

“For everything this disease has taken, something with greater value has been given,” Fox says. “It may be one step forward and two steps back, but after a time with Parkinson’s I’ve learned that what is important is making that one step count.”

Fox traveled to Bhutan in the Himalayan mountains to visit with the people. He said that the nation is unusually committed to the well-being of its citizens. The government even monitors its people with a Gross National Happiness program.

Michael J. Fox: Adventures Of An Incurable Optimist airs in the US in May.

Personally the star is having a great time with life. He and wife Tracy Pollan have been together for more than 20 years. At the start of his disease Fox admits there were a few rocky patches. He has advice on how to keep a marriage going.

“Here’s the thing with Tracy and me: We like focusing more on the comedy and less on the drama. The secret to a good marriage, as far as I am concerned, is a joke I make: Keep the fights clean and the sex dirty. Tracy and I are taken aback sometimes when people come up to us and give me this sad moon face and then they give Tracy a hug, and say, ‘You are so strong.’ We roll our eyes at each other, because we are having a really good time.”

Fox was diagnosed in 1991 but didn’t reveal his condition until 1998. From that time period he has been committed to campaigning for increased Parkinson’s research.

Fox has a book coming out in 2009 titled, Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist as a follow up to his 2002 memoir Lucky Man.

Fox is very involved with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. He is very happy with the steps that President Obama has recently forged with stem cell research. Overturning the ban of the research offers hope to those suffering from the disease.

“Today is a new day. I could not be more thrilled to see President Obama live up to his commitment to get politics out of science. We have seen, for the past eight years, how much damage the opposite approach has done to science and patients. Now that the President has taken this critical action, I am excited by the prospect of American scientists carrying human embryonic stem cell research forward toward better treatments and cures that will affect countless millions of lives.

“I commend the President for recognizing the inherent value of scientific freedom, and for helping to create an environment in which it can flourish.”

In February the foundation awarded approximately $1.9 million total to six teams that are developing neuroimaging technologies that would allow scientists to non-invasively visualize the clumping of the alpha-synuclein protein in the living human brain. The funding was provided by one of the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s supporters, The Edmond J. Safra Foundation in memory of its founder, Mr. Edmond J. Safra.

The research that is being funded is as follows:

Development and Screening of Contrast Agents for In Vivo Imaging of PD
Brian Bacskai, PhD, and Pamela McLean, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard Medical School), Boston, Massachusetts

Utility of the Amyloid Ligand [18F] FDDNP in Human PET Imaging in Parkinson’s Disease
Yvette Bordelon, MD, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles

18F-labeled Alpha-Synuclein Ligands for PET Imaging of Lewy Bodies
Franz Hefti, PhD, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Alan Snow, PhD, ProteoTech, Inc., Seattle, Washington

Generation of Alpha-Synuclein Conformation-specific Aptamers for In Vivo Bioimaging of Alpha-Synuclein Pathology
Poul Henning Jensen, MD, PhD, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

A Strategy to Develop a Radiotracer Targeting Alpha-Synuclein
Kenneth Marek, MD, Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders, New Haven, Connecticut, and Omar El-Agnaf, PhD, United Arab Emirates University

In Vivo SPECT Imaging of Synuclein Aggregation with Morphology-specific Antibody-based Ligands
Michael Sierks, PhD, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

Spears’ wardrobe malfunction exposes vagina to concert goers

Britney Spears had a wardrobe goof at her show in Tampa, and her words say it all. The star was performing ‘I’m A Slave 4 U’ when the ‘reveal’ happened. Without knowing her mic was on, Spears said “My p*ssy is hanging out.”

It’s not clear if Britney knew her mic was on when she made the comment. MTV reports Spears mimed the whole show except for one song so she assumed her microphone was off.

She knew fairly quickly that the crowd was aware as they started laughing at her announcement.

The star was offstage when the comment was said, rushing to fix the problem.

Of course it’s not the first time that fans have had the chance to get a close up of Miss Britney’s privates. She was photographed a few times just letting it all hang out while exiting various cars at night clubs before she was in hospital.

The tour will be more closely watched by people hoping to catch the young singer mess up after her stints as an in-patient for mental health issues.

Coolio arrested on drug charges in L.A.

Coolio has been charged in Los Angeles with cocaine possession. The rapper, Artis Leon Ivey, was also charged Tuesday with battery from his arrest Friday at Los Angeles International Airport.

Coolio is alleged to have grabbed a screener’s arm to stop a search of his luggage. That search uncovered drugs and a crack pipe.

Ivey, Jr. was about to fly to Tulsa when the screener found the alleged drugs. He was due to perform Friday evening.

The music star was released on $10,000 bail on one felony count of possession, and one misdemeanor count each of battery and possession of paraphernalia. His arraignment is scheduled for April 3.

If convicted Coolio could be behind bars for three years.

Low income nations about to feel pinch warns World Bank

The global economic crisis is about to hit the poorest populations in the world warns the World Bank. They are estimating that about 129 developing nations will be dealing with shortfalls of $270 billion and $700 billion this year alone.

Thus far the poorest countries have dealt with the economic crisis better than the wealthiest ones. That is about to change comes a new warning. The World Bank believes that global growth in 2009 will be negative for the first time since the Second World War.

The World Bank is not the only one with this warning. The Institute of International Finance (IIF) warned of cut-off capital flows to the rising markets this year.

Xinhuanet.com reports:

“Channeling infrastructure investment to the developing world where it can release bottlenecks to growth and quickly restore demand can have an even bigger bang for the buck and should be a key element to recovery,” Justin Yifu Lin, World Bank chief economist and senior vice president said.

The World Bank says that 46 million people will be thrown into poverty as the global economic crisis begins to hit the third world sector. The warning came from WB president Robert Zoellick that ‘’social and political unrest” will cost some developing nations a shortage of $US270-$700 billion.

Canberra Times reports:

”This global crisis needs a global solution and preventing an economic catastrophe in developing countries is important for global efforts to overcome this crisis,” Robert Zoellick said. ”We need investments in safety nets, infrastructure, and small and medium size companies to create jobs.”

In just one year export trade has been halved in some nations because of the crisis. Japan has been especially hard hit by reduced trade.

Business Daily Africa reports:

“The slowdown in growth will likely deepen the degree of deprivation of the existing poor,” notes the World Bank in a statement released on Friday. “In many low income countries, large numbers of people are clustered just above the poverty line and are therefore particularly vulnerable to economic volatility and temporary slowdowns.”

With the higher food prices, reduced donor assistance and a fall in foreign direct investments and cash remittances from the developed countries the immediate future does not fare well for low income countries.

“When this crisis began people in developing countries, especially those in Africa, were the innocent bystanders yet they have no choice but to bear its harsh consequences,” said World Bank managing director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Bloomberg News has predicted that East Asia would be hardest hit by falling global commerce.

Radio Australia reports:

The most concern is for the poor in Africa but Asia is not immune. This latest report comes on top of one in February saying 53 million more people could be trapped in poverty as a result of the global slowdown. The examples are mounting…more than half a million jobs were lost in India in the last three months of 2008. Cambodia has lost 30,000 jobs in the garment industry, its only significant export.

The international community will have to make a tremendous effort to reduce poverty. The wealthiest nations will be forced to shoulder heavy responsibilities to reduce the impact of the shrinking dollar and the costs of aid to those that are in most need.

Dozens Dead In Baghdad Attack Of Tribal Leaders

A suicide bomber has killed at least 33 people in Baghdad Tuesday targeting Sunni and Shiite tribal leaders. The leaders were touring a market after a reconciliation meeting earlier in the day.

The tribal leaders were touring a market in Abu Ghraib along with security officials and journalists. The market had been considered a safe venue.

A lone bomber detonated as the leaders passed him in the market which is in a Sunni suburb. Abu Ghraib was once the hub of the Sunni insurgency and the site of the infamous prison where US troops abused Iraqi detainees shortly after the 2003 invasion. In the past year violence had gone down in the area.

The New York Times reports:

”This terrorist attack was aimed at stopping reconciliation and the improvement in the security situation,” Shakir Fizaa, the mayor of Abu Ghraib told The Associated Press. ”The criminal attack bears the fingerprints of al-Qaida, but we will not be deterred by the acts of the vicious group against innocent civilians.”

Two journalists from private TV station al-Baghdadiya were among the dead. Another journalist from the Iraqi government station was wounded.

There are reports that 46 people were also wounded in the attack.

No one has yet to claim responsibility for the attack. Shakir Fizaa is blaming al-Qaida.

Brain study shows there is no magic spot for religion

Researchers have discovered that the brain has no ’special’ area when it comes to religion. There are instead several general networks within the organ that respond to religious thought.

Dr. Jordan Grafman of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and his team questioned 40 volunteers, drawn from the main monotheistic religions, about their religious beliefs while observing blood flow in their brains with a fMRI.

Extra blood flow reflects the activity of neurons in certain areas of the brain. The study showed participants used more of their higher thought patterns when dealing with concepts associated with a higher being as their brain lit up on the scans.

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Independent reports:

“Religious belief and behaviour are a hallmark of human life, with no accepted animal equivalent, and found in all cultures,” said Professor Jordan Grafman, from the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, near Washington. “Our results are unique in demonstrating that specific components of religious belief are mediated by well-known brain networks, and they support contemporary psychological theories that ground religious belief within evolutionary-adaptive cognitive functions.”

The study consisted of a series of statements ranging the involvement of God’s influence of the subject’s daily life. Some of the statements were;

“God’s will guides my acts.”

“God is angered by my sins.”

“God dictates celebrating the Sabbath”.

The responses for each statement showed that brain networks known to have nonreligious functions had activity.

The New York Times reports:

“There is nothing segregated or conserved or special about religious beliefs, compared to other belief systems,” Dr. Grafman said. The networks activated by religious beliefs overlap with those that mediate political beliefs and moral beliefs, he said.

Scientists have differing beliefs when it comes to if religious beliefs have a biological base. Evolutionary theorists have suggested that Darwinian natural selection may have put a premium on individuals if they were able to use religious belief in order to survive when those without that belief were overwhelmed. Others contend that religious belief is a side effect of a trait in the brain when trying to understand the outside world. They argue that religious belief is why the human brain is intelligent and adaptable because of a manifestation of this intrinsic, biological phenomenon.

Dr. Andrew Newberg, director of the Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania, questions the study’s results. He doubts that using statements to correlate religious belief can be captured on a brain scan.

Newberg is quoted in the New York Times:

“Religion has so many different aspects that it would be very unlikely to find one spot in the brain where religion and God reside,” Dr. Newberg said. “There may be other elements that science is not capable of measuring.”

Dr. Grafman is interested in how people cope with everyday moral and religious questions. He is quoted by the Independent.

“When we have incomplete knowledge of the world around us, it offers us the opportunities to believe in God. When we don’t have a scientific explanation for something, we tend to rely on supernatural explanations,” said Professor Grafman, who believes in God. “Maybe obeying supernatural forces that we had no knowledge of made it easier for religious forms of belief to emerge.”

Taliban kills 3 for being spies in Pakistan

Three men have been killed by pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan after being accused of spying for the CIA. The bodies had video tapes with them, a first for the Taliban in the region.

The bodies of the three men were found in different spots near the main road linking Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, and Bannu. Notes and videos were placed near the bullet filled bodies saying that the men were spying on the local Taliban for the US.

The notes warned that anyone that was found spying for the US, the Pakistan Army and Afghanistan would also be killed. According to the notes the men had ‘confessed’ to spying on the Taliban.

Times of India reports:

“This is the first time in South Waziristan that militants have made confession videos. Before they just used to put notes on the bodies of alleged spies,” Allahbagh Khan, a local administration official, said.

Afghan refugee Sher Khan and Pakistani tribal elder Nazar Jan were found in different locations an hour after the body of local tribesman Tahir Khan had been dumped in a bazaar in Wana.

It is common for Islamist militants to kidnap and kill local tribesmen or Afghan refugees as spies.

Principle jams students cell phones during classes

Students at the Mead School District’s Mt. Spokane High School weren’t using their cell phones during class for three days. They couldn’t.

The school had invested in a blocking device so that kids can’t zone out with their cell phones during school hours for a three day trial.

For a little less than $100 Principle John Hook’s school may soon become a cell free zone. The principle got the cell phone jammer off of the Internet.

After dealing with students who would rather text with their friends than listen to their teachers Hook wanted to find a way to put the ball back in his court.

KHQ reports:

“We believe that there are times during the school day that parents need to have access to students and students need to have access to family members, and doctors and things like that,” said Hook.

The Mead School District is working with the FCC to make sure the device is legal. If it is then the device will be back on during class time and turned off during passing periods and lunch hour. That will make it easy for the kids to follow the rules. The school allows students to carry around a cell phone but they must be turned off and stored out of sight in class. Not every one of the students played by the rules.

Cell phone jammers are illegal in most countries; except to military, law enforcement and certain governmental agencies. That doesn’t stop them from being widely available online. What is legal though is using expensive metal shielding in the construction of the buildings to block cell phone signals, but the school has be allow the use of cell phones in certain cases. That and the sheer cost takes the option off of the table.

If the device proves to be illegal they plan to return it and request a refund.

Exciting 20 year study on aging to begin this year in Canada

There is exciting news coming out from the CIHR in Canada as they prepare to do a twenty year study on aging. This study will be of vast importance as Canada approaches a time where the largest population will be over 65.

By the year 2050 the largest population in Canada will be in the 80-year-old range. There are now questions as to will the advancing age of Canada be a positive one or one that puts the medical field in an even more perilous crisis than it already is facing.

Population aging is at the centre of the policy debate in many countries. Populations projections show that 23% to 25% of the Canadian population will be aged 65 and over in 2031 and that the proportion of the oldest seniors (80 years and over) will also increase sharply. Since the large baby-boom generations are approaching retirement, many people will experience the transition from work to retirement. Aging will also affect labour force growth, old age income security expenditures, the health care system as well as the demand for informal care giving and home care services.

from a handout from the CIHR

The ultimate goal of the study to be headed by Dr. Parminder Raina of McMaster University, Dr. Christina Wolfson, McGill University and Dr. Susan Kirkland, Dalhousie University is successful aging. Dr. Raina specializes in the epidemiology of aging, caregiver health, dementia, health service utilization, informal and formal social support, income and health, disability, epidemiological methods, population health, injury and knowledge transfer. At a recent journalist workshop put on by the CIHR he was excited to be able to discuss the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Over 160 experts and 26 universities will be working together across Canada on CLSA which launched in late 2008.

The study will not just be used in the medical field but for future government decision making concerning aging.

The aging of Canada has many factors. It is possible that in the future people wouldn’t live longer. Factors such as obesity, which is becoming a large problem in Canada, and sedentary lifestyles may change what is the average length of life. Alcohol and drug abuse are other factors that have to be factored into the equation.

The study will also be linking into other international studies being conducted in the U.S., U.K., France, Italy and the Netherlands. CIHR will be linking with HRS, ELSA, ILSA and LASA. Other countries and organizations could also be included in the future.

The study will be multi-disciplinary focusing on biological, physical, psychological and social function.

Right now the government of Canada is looking through statistics to help find the first 20,000 of the total 50,000 study participants ages between 45-85. Those who consent to share their information will the CLSA will be followed up with. These recruits will be followed for at least 20 years beginning in 2009. All participants will be informed of the purpose and the nature of the study. They will be advised of their required participation, their rights and about the confidentiality involved. They will also be told of the anticipated risks and benefits being part of the study will be.

The first study group of 20,000 will be followed every 3 years using a questionnaire. A more in-depth group of 30,000 participants will have in-depth clinical testing completed every 3 years at one of 10 sites throughout Canada. Once a study member turns 80 years old they will be followed annually. All members will be sent a yearly short questionnaire to keep contact information current.

CLSA will provide Canada will the knowledge to move forward not only in health care dealing with aging but with city planning. Our children will greatly benefit from the information this study will gain for Canada’s growth.

The study is being funded by CIHR, CIHR-IA, Health Canada, the BC Network on Aging and FRSQ Quebec Network for Research on Aging.

When kangaroos attack it can be painful

They may look cute and cuddly but don’t overlook the danger that comes in the form of a kangaroo. Two recent attacks show the power these cute animals have in their limbs.

Steven Shorten, 13, knows that the bouncing animals can be dangerous. He was having fun at the Grafton District Golf Club when he was attacked by a 1.5 metre high kangaroo. The animal grabbed him and then used him as a trampoline jumping up and down on the youth. Steven suffered massive facial wounds and cuts to his abdomen, back and legs.

When a a 6ft, 90lbs kangaroo broke through Beat Ettlin’s bedroom window he had to act fast. The 42-year-old father knew that his two young children could be in danger from the marsupial lunatic ninja. The red kangaroo started to bounce on the bed that Ettlin, his wife and 9-year-old daughter Beatrix was in. After yelling at the beast and pulling the covers the roo bounced on to his arm and then moved to the bedside table according to Ettlin. Then the animal bounced into the bedroom of Leighton, 10. Swiss born Ettlin had had enough. There was no way that the break-in kangaroo was going to hurt his son.

Sky News reports:

When I got in there, it was against the wall by the window, trying to get out I think, so I just jumped on top of it. I got him in a headlock and pressed him to the ground.

“I had to push with my full body weight and I got him as low as I could. It was quite aggressive and tried to escape of course. I could feel how powerful it was.

“I had to open the door with one hand, pressing the kangaroo to the wall with the other hand. Finally, the door opened and I could actually release it.

“The whole thing only took about two and a half minutes, it was really quick. I could hear it breathing really heavily but otherwise there was just silence. It was a freaky moment.”

The kangaroo had been wounded at some point, a trail of blood was throughout the home. Ettlin believes that it was cut when the kangaroo broke through the window glass.

Police man gunned down in Ireland

A police officer in Craigavon, North Ireland has been gunned down in an ambush. This violence comes just days after two soldiers were killed at an army base in Antrim.

There has been no claimed responsibility on the latest shooting.

The policeman was in his patrol car in Lismore Manor area of Craigavon, Co Armagh, 30 miles away from Belfast when he was murdered. There have been reports that the unnamed man was shot in the head. It is also thought another officer was in the car at the time of the shooting.

It is believed that the pair were investigating suspicious activity near Lismore High School at Brownlow.

Dolores Kelly, a member of both Northern Ireland’s policing board and the nationalist SDLP party, is quoted by the Daily Mail:

‘We are tonight staring into the abyss and I would appeal to people to pull back.

‘I certainly would want to offer my sympathies and condolences to the family of the officer who has been murdered tonight and to the wider police family.’

Real IRA dissidents have claimed to be behind the shooting at the army base.

Sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, have been named as the soldiers who were killed. They were due to go on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Anthony Watson, 19, from Antrim and a Polish man in his 30s were also injured during the attack.

The Daily Mail reports:

IRA expert Kevin Toolis said: ‘They are saying they are an active physical force as a movement, they are active and violent.

‘They want to destroy British rule in Northern Ireland and anything that provokes a political crisis, a security crisis, obviously works in their favour.

‘The barracks attack was proof of a viable terrorist entity. They have managed to create a viable network that the authorities know nothing of and don’t know what they are going to create.

‘The IRA is unique in human history that they’ve survived for so long. Violent Irish republicanism is like a religion. It is entirely impervious to political reality, generations of democratic elections and the will of the Irish people. These people are fanatics. They have a distorted world view and want to bring down the Good Friday agreement by violence.’

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith says youngest on NDNAD under 1

DNA stored in the UK national database includes that of an infant under the age of one. The oldest person with a profile is over the age of 90.

After the announcement was made Monday night by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith she stated that the Government would be taking ‘immediate steps’ to remove all profiles of children under the age of 10 from the database.

The Daily Mail reports:

She told Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne: ‘As at November 26 2008, the youngest person with a profile on the NDNAD was aged under one year and the oldest was over 90 years old.’

In December last year Ms. Smith had said that there would be changes to the way the database operates.

The national DNA database was set up to aid the police by quickly identifying offenders, make earlier arrests, securing more convictions and providing critical investigative leads for police investigations.

The database is the largest of any country. By 2005 over 3.4 million DNA profiles had been stored but at times those profiles have been controversial.

There are those that say that the database is turning the UK into a police state and that Big Brother is looking over the land.

There have been reports that the NDNAD potentially infringes civil liberties and could in the future be used for malign purposes.

David Mery of The Register has been one who has written against the database’s retention of DNA of innocent people.

“If you are among the estimated 573,639 to 857,366 innocents whose DNA profile is on the National DNA Database (NDNAD), you should act now. Don’t wait until the time the police will have to weed out these records and samples.”

Kennel Explosion Kills 17 Dogs, Including Martha Stewart’s Puppy

Seventeen dogs have been killed in a propane explosion at a Pennsylvania kennel. Martha Stewart’s dog, Ghengis Khan, was one of the show dogs that died.

Fifteen dogs died when the explosion occurred at Pazzazz Pet Boarding, a kennel in the Pocono Mountains that breeds and trains show dogs on Friday. Two more dogs died over the weekend from their injuries.

Timothy Kleinhagen of Summit Hill, the driver of the propane truck, risked his life to save at least one of the dogs. Even though he was badly burned he managed to toss a cairn terrier over the kennel fence to safety. He is in critical condition at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

Fox News reports:

“That man is a hero,” said the kennel’s co-owner, Karen Tracy. “My heart goes out to his family.”

Officials have said a spark or static electricity may have been the cause of the blaze. It is considered to be accidental but an investigation is ongoing.

Stewart’s dog was a recent member to her canine family. She adopted the grandson of her previous chow, Paw Paw in December.

AP reports:

“My heart goes out to Karen Tracy and I am hoping for a speedy recovery for those (both pets and humans) injured in this terrible event,” Stewart wrote.

Journalist Saberi seen by lawyer on Sunday, said to be depressed

American journalist Roxana Saberi detained in Iran at Evin prison has been seen been an attorney for the first time on Sunday. The lawyer had been turned away Saturday for not having the right paperwork. Her family is happy to know she is alive.

Saberi’s father said that the lawyer saw no signs of abuse but the journalist is “very depressed.”

AFP reports:

“I met Ms Saberi yesterday (Sunday) at a revolutionary court. She appeared fine,” lawyer Abdolsamad Khoramshahi told AFP.

“I have not read the file yet and can’t comment on the nature of the accusation against her,” he said, adding that he would “see her again in prison in one or two days.”

Saberi is a freelance journalist whose credentials had been revoked in Iran two years ago. Last month the authorities in Iran arrested her after she purchased some wine. Wine is illegal in the Muslim country. Her arrest came at a time though that the Iranian regime has begun to crack down on dissidents in advance of national elections to be held in June.

Inforum.com reports:

“It seems like she was completely isolated from the rest of the world,” Reza Saberi said Sunday, adding that his daughter requested the lawyer bring back a few books from her apartment to read while being detained in a prison north of the Iranian capital of Tehran.

The lawyer also said that Roxana wanted her family to know that she loves them very much.

It has been a week since the plight of the journalist started hitting the media. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for the journalist to be released. Last week Iran said that the American should be released “very soon” but did not give a time table for that release.

While Roxana is an American citizen she also holds dual citizenship in Iran. She has resided in Iran for the past six years. Before her press card was revoked two years ago she had reported for the BBC, NPR, and Fox News.

Star Tribune reports:

Her father this week told the Associated Press that he appreciated the efforts of everyone who pressed for her release . Said Reza Saberi: “All over the world, people have objected to this kind of suppression of freedom. They are voicing their outrage.”

There are two Facebook groups offering support for Saberi; Free Roxanz Saberi with 513 members and Release and return journalist Roxana Saberi from IR custody with 2,676 members.

Criminally insane inmate wants OHIP to pay for sex change

An inmate is demanding that Canada pays for a sex change. The criminally insane man is in the penal system for sexual assault.

This week an inmate, Shauna Taylor, appeared in court requesting that an orchidectomy to surgically remove the testes be conducted.

Formerly known as Vance Egglestone before a legal name-change started hormone therapy in 2000 to transition into a female. Taylor has already undergone hormone therapy, nose surgery and permanent hair removal.

During the court proceedings three guards from Oakridge division of the Penetanguishene Mental Health Centre were on hand to guard Taylor.

As a man the inmate was found not guilty of rape by reason of a mental disorder. Taylor went to an institution for treatment.

In 1985 Taylor plead guilty for another sexual assault shortly after release from the mental hospital.

Taylor blames criminal behaviour of the past on gender identity disorder.

Given the dates that the hormone therapy started Taylor was in the prison system. It’s a given that OHIP has already been paying for those treatments. The next stage of treatment will cost $15,000. There is debate in the court about who should pay for an assessment to see if Taylor even would qualify for the operation being as she is considered criminally insane.

An assessment is required for surgical removal of sex organs under OHIP. That assessment is a rigorous testing to determine whether or not surgical intervention is necessary for Taylor’s health and welfare.

Taylor believes that the surgery would further her treatment.

The Toronto Sun reports:

“I was a female trapped inside a male’s body,” she said. “I started acting out in ways that I thought a male was supposed to act … my head was in a spin back then.”

Is the Cervarix vaccine safe? Some in the UK say no

There is concern in the United Kingdom about the cervical cancer vaccine after more than 1,300 schoolgirls have had adverse reactions to the shot.

Doctors are reporting that some young girls as young as 12 have suffered paralysis, suffered convulsions and sight problems after receiving the vaccine. Other girls have had less serious reactions of pain ‘in extremity’ while others suffered from nausea, muscle weakness, fever, dizziness and numbness.

The government has a program that gives the vaccine to girls in order to prevent cervical cancer in the future. It is hoped that in time the vaccine will save 700 lives a year.

On Saturday campaigners called for the suspension of the vaccine in light of the side-effects.

The Daily Mail reports:

Last night Jackie Fletcher of the vaccine support group Jabs said: ‘When they introduced this new vaccine, we had major concerns about its safety. The current statistics detailing adverse reactions – including cases of epilepsy and convulsions – bears out that we were right to be concerned.

‘The Government needs to look at the future of this programme given the number of side-effects coming through.’

Health experts in the government are debating that 700,000 girls were given the vaccine and there were just 1,340 reports of any reaction to it. They also said that the act of the injection rather than the vaccine itself could be to blame for some of those more serious reactions.

Robert Music, director of cervical cancer charity Jo’s Trust, said: ‘I urge every mother to ensure their girls have the vaccine, because we believe the obvious benefits outweigh the risks. Quite simply, the jab could save their daughters’ lives.’

Fax sent to radio sent leads police to missing Los Angeles woman

Police have found the body of a missing woman after a radio station was sent details by fax in Los Angeles. KTLA-TV was received the faxed letter by an unknown sender.

The letter said that a woman, killed February 28 was in a black trash bag in a car. The location was said to be within a two-square-mile area. The police found the car on a residential street facing the 101 Freeway.

The fax also stated that the woman would have been reported missing by her family.

The fax named a suspect in the killing and gave the name of another man who helped clean the car with the suspect.

One of the men named is already in jail being held on another charge not related to this case. He was arrested on March 3 and is in jail in lieu of $150,000.

The sedan found was registered to the dead woman, 22-year-old Denise Figueroa. She had been missing since February 28. An autopsy will be performed on Monday.

Fox News reports that the person last seen with Figueroa had called her father and told him “I didn’t mean to hurt her. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Two young soccer fans dead after being hit by a train in Paris

A Paris commuter train hit a group of soccer fans killing two young boys on Saturday night. The brothers were with a group walking down the tracks in an off-limits area.

Eleven others were injured during the accident which took place in a Paris suburb.

Reports say that brothers aged 11 and 17, were killed and their father, 40, was seriously injured. Two other minors are also in serious condition at hospital.

The fans of the Lille soccer team were taking a short cut along the tracks to get to a bus when the accident occurred. The area they were in was in an off-limits zone protected by barriers and gates.

News 24 reports:

Guillaume Pepy, head of SNCF, said the accident was “without precedent” and stressed that walking on the tracks is illegal.

“Never, never, never, for any reason, are you allowed to walk on tracks,” Pepy said, calling it “extraordinarily dangerous”.

Thousands of fans return home was disrupted as a result of the accident. More than 78,000 people were at the Stade de France Saturday night watching Lille beat defending champion Lyon 2-0.

Traffic was back to normal around 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning.

Al-Bashir threatens to expel more aid groups from Darfur

Sudan’s President al-Bashir has threatened the kick more aid groups from his country on Sunday. Al-Bashir has also said he will expel diplomats and peacekeepers during a trip to the Darfur region.

Last week the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant against al-Bashir for war crimes.

Following the announcement of the warrant 13 aid agencies were expelled in a defiant move by the president.

Speaking to a crowd in El Fasher, the North Darfur capital Al-Bashir told the crowd more will be expelled from the nation if they become involved in the ICC case against him. Waving a sword al-Bashir rallied the crowd insulting the ICC and making anti-Western statements about how the United States should also be charges with War Crimes.

Reuters reports:

“They killed millions of Indians … Why are they not on trial,” he said.

“The International Criminal Court and everyone who works for it are under my feet,” he added, a serious insult across the Arab world.

Al-Bashir made his defiant visit to Darfur as officials said the expulsion orders were “irreversible.”

News 24 reports:

“Those who respect themselves, we will respect them. Don’t interfere in something that doesn’t concern you,” al-Bashir said. “Don’t do anything that would harm the country’s security and stability.

“Whoever deviates, we will kick them out… Every person has limits,” he added.

Al-Bashir has rejected the charges against him. Hoping to defuse the situation in the war torn country Arab and African nations have asked that the UN Security Council defer any prosecution for at least a year.

The UN has released a statement saying that it is impossible to fill the gap that the organizations already expelled have left reports The Telegraph.

“While some 85 international NGOs (non-governmental organizations) operate in Darfur, without these organizations much of the aid operation literally comes to a halt,” the statement said.

Pastor Fred Winters Dead After Church Shooting In Illinois

An Illinois pastor has been killed, shot during his sermon Sunday morning. Pastor Fred Winters of the First Baptist Church in Maryville died from gunshot wounds. The first bullet fired at the pastor during this morning’s shooting was deflected by the Bible in Rev. Fred Winter’s hands.

A man is in custody at hospital after allegedly walking down the aisle at First Baptist Church in Maryville and shooting Pastor Fred Winters.The man then stabbed himself and two others as parishioners tackled him. A total of six people were taken to area hospitals from gunshot wounds.

The shooting took place just after 8 a.m. Sunday morning in the Illinois church. The suspect exchanged words with the pastor before firing a .45-caliber handgun. The pastor was fire three times. Winters was struck in the heart and his neck.

The first bullet hit Winter’s Bible sending confetti-like bits of paper into the air.

At first those attending the service thought the Pastor was involved in a skit.

AP reports:

“We thought it was part of a drama skit … when he shot, what you saw was confetti,” said congregant Linda Cunningham, whose husband is a minister of adult education at the church. “We just sat there waiting for what comes next, not realizing that he had wounded the pastor.”

There were about 150 members at the morning service. No one seemed to know who the gunman was.
Two of the parishioners that helped subdue the gunman were injured in the struggle.

It is not clear if the suspect knew Pastor Winters according to Illinois State Trooper Master Trooper Ralph Timmins.

AP reports:

“We don’t know the relationship (between the gunman and pastor), why he’s here or what the circumstances came about that caused him in the first place to be here,” Timmins said.

Pastor Winters was taken to Anderson Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The gunman was taken to a local hospital and then flown to hospital in Saint Louis. He is listed in serious condition.

Two people who were injured at the church were flown to a different hospital according to Anderson Hospital spokesperson Natalie Head.

Winters had lead First Baptist for almost 22 years. He was the father of two and the former president of the Illinois Baptist State Association and an adjunct professor for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. First Baptist has a congregation of about 1,500 members. Winters is credited for building the size of his flock from just 30 members.

USA Today quoted Jeff Ross, a lay minister at the First Baptist Church from a phone interview:

“He built this church in a cornfield,” Ross said of Winters, “and now houses are filling in around us.”

Winters, he said, “was on fire for the Lord. He only worried about people who were lost.”

Maryville is 20 miles northeast of Saint Louis.

Update:

This morning’s sermon was about finding happiness in the workplace.

After being shot Winter’s made it halfway down a side aisle of the church before he collapsed.

The gunman is a 27-year-old from nearby Troy but would not release his name pending possible charges.

AP reports:

“We don’t know the relationship (between the gunman and pastor), why he’s here or what the circumstances came about that caused him in the first place to be here,” said Illinois State Police Master Trooper Ralph Timmins.

Two church members wrestled the gunman to the ground before he stabbed himself in the neck. The church members were both wounded in the process.

Both the gunman and 39-year-old congregant Terry Bullard are listed in serious condition at St. Louis University Hospital. They both had surgery for their wounds. Bullard had been stabbed in the lower back.

The other church member, Keith Melton, was treated and released from Gateway Regional Medical Center.

Suicide bomb attack at Iraq police academy, 28 dead

A suicide bomber killed 28 people on Sunday at the largest police academy in Baghdad. The first major attack in a month in Baghdad also wounded 57 people.

The attack at the police academy killed a large number of police and police recruits. A man wearing an explosive vest rode a motorbike packed with explosives to the back entrance of the academy. He then blew himself up.

The authorities are struggling to identity the victims. Police recruits have been a large target of these type of attacks in Iraq. The injured have been taken to Al-Kindi and Ibn al-Nafees hospitals. Emergency crews are at the scene treating other victims.

The bomber was able to get close enough to the academy because of a protest near the school. The bomber is said to have been at the protest.

Reuters reports:

“We know recruits are a favorite target for suicide bombers. We tell them to come in small groups instead of big groups, but they don’t pay attention,” an academy official said.

“This is the result — a suicide bomber managed to infiltrate and explode himself,” he said, requesting anonymity.

Violence in Iraq has started to decline but it is not a safe nation for civilians yet. In Baghdad there is violence in the streets almost every day.

In December another attack at the academy left 15 police and police recruits dead.

Even with security measures protecting the academy is difficult because of the incoming traffic of the recruits. The authorities have placed check points and concrete blocks up nearby the academy.

Canadian study says LGB teens have higher risk of pregnancy in BC

Research has shown that lesbian, gay and bisexual teens in British Columbia have a higher rate of teenage pregnancy. The study focused on a cross section of teens in Vancouver.

The higher rate is a direct result of discrimination, sexual abuse and harassment that these teens face.

The study, based on the B.C. Adolescent Health Survey, which is conducted every five or six years in school districts across the province by the McCreary Centre Society, was published in the December issue of Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality. The study took place in 1992, 1998 and 2003-among 30,000 high school students from grades 7-12 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The survey asks teens about sexual health as well as risky behaviours they may deal with. There are also questions on sexual orientation. British Columbia is the only province that tracks trends in sexual health regardless of a teen’s sexual orientation. By using the term “pregnancy involvement” it allowed the researchers to take teens with a different sexual orientation into account.

The University of British Columbia reports:

“Teen pregnancy is declining, but the risk is still higher for LGB youth,” says lead author Elizabeth Saewyc, an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at UBC and Research Director at the McCreary Centre Society. “These results are linked to higher rates of discrimination and harassment among LGB teens at school.”

The results showed that lesbian and bisexual teens who dealt with pregnancy face discrimination double to teens who are heterosexual. Harassment at school is also an issue for LGB teens who have not become pregnant.

While the study deals with British Columbia teens Saewyc says that higher pregnancy rates are higher throughout the world.

“Population studies in other countries have also documented higher rates of teen pregnancy among sexual minority youth. We expect other provinces in Canada would report similar results if they conducted similar surveys.”

Trends in risk behaviours lead to pregnancy is also common due to sexual abuse.

Catherine Jefcoat, director of Lesbian Community Care Project, has some concerns about the study. She was interested though in the fact that the study included LGB teens as possible parents. In most studies these teens are generally shifted to a non-parent status automatically.

The Canadian reports:

“We need to know more about the truth of young queer lesbians’ lives; this adds to the work.” Jefcoat sees a need for more resources given that “It’s incredibly hard to build programs that address young queer female lives when funders [and many segments of the public] are only interested in our ability to make babies and not our sexuality, and that includes straight sexuality.”

This study was given funding by CIHR’s Institute of Population and Public Health and CIHR’s Institute of Gender and Health.

Nigeria program gives HIV couples money to start married life

The bride was in a beautiful golden down with ornate henna tattoos. Hauwa Idriss and Umar Ahmed wed recently using Nigerian government cash. They have HIV and are part of a new program to halt the spread of the virus in Nigeria.

Bauchi State in Nigeria’s Muslim north has begun to help HIV sufferers get together and encouraging them to wed. They couples are even given the cash to put towards their wedding and counseling. The goal is to stop the spread of HIV in the region. The program will be formalized in 2009 although the budget does not yet exist.

94 marriages have taken place under the program. Idris, 32, and Umar, 39, are the 94th ceremony paid in part by the government. The government gave that couple $225 to help them set up their first home.

The program is not a match service for those with HIV but when they hear of HIV partnerships they encourage a legal marriage.

Boston.com reports:

“I’m very happy to see my wedding day,” laughs Idris shyly. “I never expected I was going to marry because of my (HIV) status. But now I am happy and thank God that now we have a solution … we can marry within ourselves.”

In Nigeria 4 million of its 140 million people have the virus that leads to AIDS. It is the second largest HIV population in the world. Health experts warn that even with prevalence rates starting to drop slightly the country has to work at bringing the epidemic under control.
In Nigeria 36 states have programs to pair HIV couples.

Chron.com reports:

“We live in a polygamous society where divorce is common and condom use is low,” says Yakubu Usman Abubakar, an official working with the Bauchi Action Committee on AIDS, which runs the program. “If we can stop those who have the disease spreading it to those who don’t have the disease, then obviously it will come under control.”

With help from the Bauchi Action Committee on AIDS couples receive treatment and advice on how to not spread the virus to their future children.

Hannah and her husband Ziko are another couple who have married under the program.

“I’m so excited to be a mother,” says Hannah, now three months pregnant. “I have been eating a special diet and having medical checkups. I never imagined I could live such a normal life.”

Some have criticized the program’s allowing children to be born into families that likely will not survive long enough for their children to reach adulthood. Already there are 1.2 AIDS orphans in Nigeria as of 2007.

Health officials point out though that the average life expectancy is only 48 in all cases in the nation.

“Here you can’t assume that someone with HIV will die sooner than someone else,” says Abubakar, of the Bauchi program. “Especially if they are taking care of themselves, receiving good advice and proper medication.”

Study proves that religious people have less stress and anxiety

A University of Toronto study published in Psychological Science shows that believing in God can reduce stress and block anxiety.

The study used brain waves that tested participants brain activity. Those with a belief in God showed less activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). That portion of the brain helps modify behavior when anxiety-producing events like making a mistake occurs. The stronger the faith the less study members ACC fired in response to their own errors.

The study was co-authored by Dr. Ian McGregor at York University, and by Jacob Hirsh and Kyle Nash, doctoral candidates at the University of Toronto and York University

Science Daily reports:

“You could think of this part of the brain like a cortical alarm bell that rings when an individual has just made a mistake or experiences uncertainty,” says lead author Inzlicht, who teaches and conducts research at the University of Toronto Scarborough. “We found that religious people or even people who simply believe in the existence of God show significantly less brain activity in relation to their own errors. They’re much less anxious and feel less stressed when they have made an error.”

The findings found that even after controlling for personality and cognitive ability those with a religious belief has a calming effect making it easier for them to feel less anxious about facing the unknown or making a mistake.

The Globe and Mail found that those in the religious community were not surprised by these findings.

David Reed, professor emeritus of pastoral theology and a research professor at Wycliffe College, said he isn’t surprised by the study’s results.

“Religious people, and I’m speaking for Christians but also other faiths as well, have some larger purpose other than themselves,” Reed said. “They have a more longitudinal view of life, in that they take it beyond death.”

The down side to this is that there are times when anxiety is both necessary and helpful. When one isn’t concerned about making mistakes the learning process can be affected.

Toronto University released a statement on the study.

“Obviously, anxiety can be negative because if you have too much, you’re paralyzed with fear,” he says. “However, it also serves a very useful function in that it alerts us when we’re making mistakes. If you don’t experience anxiety when you make an error, what impetus do you have to change or improve your behaviour so you don’t make the same mistakes again and again?”

What is not known though is the causation for this correlation between brain activity and religion.

The Canadian Press reports:

“Is it possible that someone who’s born with this kind of brain activity is attracted to religion, or is it the other way around? That religion leads one to have this kind of brain? So we’re exploring now the order of causation. What causes what?”

Future studies may show how this research may affect political views.

CanDrive study will observe older Canadian drivers for five years

CanDrive, founded in 2002, investigates senior citizens and road safety. The aim of CanDrive is to not only to keep the roads safe but improve the health, safety and quality-of-life for older adults in Canada.

One of the ways CanDrive is working to improve the roads is through an extensive study that will be started this year funded in part by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Using the grant money from a CIHR Team Grant of $5.5 million the study will track the key factors that impact older drivers in Canada. The study will be headed by Malcolm Man-Son-Hing, MD MSc FRCPC and Shawn Marshall, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Ottawa. This study will take five years to complete and focus on a national interdisciplinary approach to improve the safety of older drivers. Other funds have come from the Alzheimer Society, Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, Canadian Stroke Network, Physicians’ Service Incorporated, AUTO 21 and Reseau Provincial de Recherche en Adaption-readaptation.

Encompassing a total of eight projects the study will be longitudinal. One of the goals will be to have a standard tool for health care providers to identity drivers who have an increased risk for at-fault motor vehicle collisions.

Using a sample size of 1,000 drivers over the age of 70 and Global Positioning Systems built into cars, researchers will be able to determine how older drivers are effected by both aging and by environmental factors. The study will take place in Victoria, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa and Montreal. There will also be an international element taking place with studies being conducted in Australia and Michigan.

The study will look at the natural life of the driving adult through the time of transition of driving cessation. As for the phase of life when a driver has to give up their car keys, the study will observe the life changes such as depression that are a direct impact from this time period.

CanDrive has formed a valuable partnership with key seniors groups. That connection has helped CanDrive gain a confidence in the older population. Other partnerships have been formed with both government and non-government agencies.

There is much already known about the older driver. Risks that are perceived by the public, such as a loss of vision may not be as high as the media often reports. It is true that older drivers tend to have more left-turn crashes than other sectors of the population. It is also true that the mortality rates are higher for elderly drivers in a crash than younger drivers. That does not have to do with the severity of accidents but rather to the fact an older person has other health issues to deal with. It appears that protective devices like air-bags are not as helpful for older adults, which can effect statistics.

For those interested in being a part of the study please contact Jennifer Biggs, RN at 613-851-3858 or Anita Jessup, RN, BA at 613-240-8616 or 1-866-233-1133.

Mission to find life sustaining planets begins tonight

The Kepler spacecraft is scheduled to launch on Friday at 11 p.m. The telescope craft will search out the stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the Milky Way for more than three years looking for dips in brightness.

Those light differences could be a signal that a planet is in front of it in transit. The mission will cost $600 million. It is named after Johannes Kepler, the first astronomer to get the planetary motion theory correct in the 17th century.

The Kepler is so advanced that it is able to collect light data from the 95-megapixel telescope sensitive enough to detect slight changes in the number of photons. That technology is needed to find other planets with life. The goal is to find planets in the small size range as Earth. Already researchers have discovered more than 340 planets circling stars beyond our solar system. Those planets though appear to be to large to have life on them.

The goal is to find other planets in the ‘Goldilocks zone.’ The theory is that to support life a planet needs to be able to orbit their sun in about a year. A planet’s need for water makes for that theory to be important which is way NASA’s motto is “follow the water.”

That mission is much like finding a needle in a haystack. The Kepler team will would need to spot shifts in a star’s movement of less than one metre per second. It’s believed that there could be 10 billion trillion planets like ours in the Milky Way.

ITN.co.uk reports:

Gibor Basri, a Kepler scientist at the University of California, said: “It could possibly tell us that earths are very, very common, that we have lots of neighbours out there. Or, it could tell us that earths are really, really, really rare – perhaps we’re the only Earth.”

While the NASA team does not expect to find “E.T.” it just may find a home that other life forms reside on reports CNN.

“This is a historical mission. It’s not just a science mission,” NASA Associate Administrator Ed Weiler said during a pre-launch news conference.

“It really attacks some very basic human questions that have been part of our genetic code since that first man or woman looked up in the sky and asked the question: Are we alone?”

Last month COROT out of Europe found the smallest terrestrial exoplanet ever located. The planet is less than twice the diameter of the Earth and is very close to its star which gives the orb a temperature of up to 1,55 degrees Celsius.

CNN reports:

“The density of these planets has been astounding,” William Borucki, science principal investigator for the Kepler mission said. “We’re finding planets that float like a piece of foam on water, [with] very, very low densities. We’re finding some planets where the densities are heavier than that of lead.”

With the Kepler, when it finds a planet it will be able to calculate size, mass, orbital period, distance from its star and the temperature of the orb’s surface. It is the first step on intergalactic exploration.

CNN reports:

“Once we know how many there really are … then NASA will be able to build space telescopes that can actually go out and take a picture of that nearby ‘Earth’ and measure the elements and compounds in its atmosphere of the planet and give us some hint as to whether or not it’s got life,” Alan Boss, an astronomer with the Carnegie Institution who serves on the Kepler Science Council said.

Climate change research about to lose important tool

As the world’s scientists work on the global climate they will be losing their most important tool; weather satellites. The U.S. satellites that monitor climate change are beginning to fail due to age.

Because of more than 10 years of budget cuts the care of weather satellites has just not been on par. At a time when the data they provide is most needed researcher will be acting blind.

NPR reports:

“We’ll be blind for maybe a decade,” says Kathy Kelly, an oceanographer at the University of Washington who depends on satellite data for her research.

QuikSCAT is one of those satellites that could at any day stop sending information. It is used to send a stream back everyday about ocean winds and hurricanes.

The winds of the oceans are very important factors within the research for the climate.

What’s more unsettling is that new satellites are years from being launched to replace the ones soon to stop working. The agencies that have been most responsible for these satellites have had the largest budget cuts. Both NOAA and NASA also have other focuses than climate change. NOAA is involved in current weather and NASA is all about space science.

One hopeful sign is the pick by President Obama to run NOAA, Jane Lubchenco. She plans to create a National Climate Service. Those steps though will take time.

“The quickest you can get any new sensor up from when you seriously start is on the order of five years, and it can be as long as 10,” Bruce Wielicki, a NASA climate scientist says.

The gaps between being blind and global climate change will not just affect research. Without the satellite data air travel will be affected. Hurricane survival will be up in the air. Its long past the time for action.

“What are we going to do with airports? What are we going to do with the transportation sector?” Tom Karl, who’s in charge of climate services for NOAA says.

Opinion: It Can Take Years For The Final Break With Domestic Violence

There has been much written on Rihanna returning to Chris Brown in light of their alleged domestic violent relationship. While many don’t understand the concept of a victim returning to her abuser, Rihanna fits the statistics.

Most abuse victims return to their partners several times before the final break. Often it’s not the first time a woman leaves her partner that the break is complete. Several factors play into this from economic to social. The victim wants to help the abuser recover at times. Sometimes after being broken down emotionally fear of not being able to survive on one’s own two feet propels a return to what is known. At times there is no where safe to go and so the circle of abuse continues.

One in four women in Canada will fall victim to abuse by an intimate partner.

Approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States.

Many abusers are good at charming the masses. Its only behind closed doors that the abuse comes out. When the people surrounding an abused person sees the partner as charming it’s difficult to gain the support needed to break free. Add this to the fact that most abusers are also master manipulators knowing which buttons to touch on their victims. After a violent episode the abuser can become more loving, being the that person the victim fell for in the first place. The victim wants to believe that the violence is now in the past. That sadly is a rarity.

Many victims go to a domestic violence shelter. Sometimes those shelters are as unsafe as the homes they left. When a mother feels that her children are not safe they will return to the home and the circle of violence. For others a shelter can feel like a prison. Those feelings create a sense of punishment. Many are unable to support themselves and have to turn to social aid adding on to the feelings of guilt and failure.

In the end, leaving domestic violence behind takes a stand of faith. A victim has to gather courage to weather the times of uncertainty. When self-esteem has been crushed this is a difficult process. But only when that step has been made can the circle of abuse be broken.

If you are trying to leave a violent home this web site offers several resources in Canada.

Chris Brown charged with two felonies

Chris Brown has been charged formally with two felonies stemming from an alleged attack with his girlfriend. He was arrested in February after a fight sent Rihanna to the hospital.

Brown is expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon on charges of assault likely to cause great bodily injury and making criminal threats. Brown is free at this time on $50,000 bail.

The felony complaint lists the alleged victim only as “Robyn F.” Rhianna’s full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty.

If convicted Brown could face probation to four years and eight months in state prison.

The couple broke up after the incident but have recently gotten back together.

Abuse experts have said that it is common in cases of domestic abuse for the victim to return to a partner who has abused them in the past.

Health Canada finds bisphenol A in canned soft drinks

A female hormone that has been banned in baby bottles has been found to be in most canned soft drinks sold in Canada says a Health Canada study.

Of the 72 soft drinks that were tested by Health Canada, 69 were found to have BPA. Those levels though were below what Health Canada says is the upper limit.

Even in very low doses those BPA can increase the risk of both breast and ovarian cancer cell growth and some prostate cancer cells in animals.

CBC reports:

“There is no risk to Canadians,” Health Canada spokesman Stéphane Shank told CBC News. “The average adult weighing approximately 60 kilograms would have to consume over 900 cans per day” to reach the department’s safety threshold, he said.

Scientists from Health Canada brought the cans in Ottawa in April 2007. The drinks included diet, non-diet, fruit-flavoured and energy drinks, representing 84 per cent of soft drinks sold throughout the country.

The report was published in the January issue of Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and is posted on the website for Health Canada.

The chemical compound, Bisphenol A is found in some hard, clear, lightweight plastics and resins. It is used in the manufacture of different types of food and drink containers. In soda pop cans it is used as a liner.

Li not criminally responsible in Greyhound beheading case

Queen’s Bench Justice John Scurfield ruled that Vincent Li is not criminally responsible for the murder of Timothy McLean. Li was on trial for second-degree murder in Calgary.

CBC quotes Judge Scurfield:

“These grotesque acts are appalling… but are suggestive of a mental disorder,” the judge said.

“He did not appreciate the act he committed was wrong.”

Li plead not guilty. He will not be sent to prison but will likely be sent to a mental health center. He will most likely be sent to a hospital in Selkirk, Man.

The Calgary Herald reports:

“He certainly didn’t know it was wrong. He was quite psychotic during that time period,” said Rootenberg. He said Li likely didn’t view McLean as a “human being” as he attacked him.

“He viewed the unfortunate victim as a demon. He believes it wasn’t his hands doing that, but it was God’s hands, through him.”

The evidence pointed to Vincent Li suffering from a psychotic episode during the Greyhound bus beheading of Timothy McLean. Experts have stated that Li is schizophrenic.

Dr. Stanley Yaren believes that Li could have a significant recovery in the next few years with under rigorous treatment and medication. His testimony was considered in today’s ruling.

“He is not 100 per cent out of his psychotic phase yet,” Yaren said. “But over time, as he recovers, he will have to come to terms with the awful things that have occurred.”

Li will be under review by the Manitoba’s provincial review board as to whether he poses a risk to the public.

Barbara Bush recovering from heart surgery

Barbara Bush is recovery from surgery to replace her aortic valve at Methodist Hospital’s DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center.

The former First Lady, 83, had experienced shortness of breath last week. Doctors discovered that she had a hardened valve in her heart and scheduled the surgery. The surgery is described as routine. It lasts about two-and-a-half hours.

Mrs. Bush was up and talking after the surgery.

She should be able to leave the hospital in 10 days. Her husband, George Bush, Sr. is with her at the hospital.

Last November Mrs. Bush had surgery on a perforated ulcer. She was released from the hospital on December 2 from that ordeal.

Doctors say that an untreated hardened aortic valve can lead to heart failure or sudden cardiac death. Symptoms of aortic valve disease are shortness of breath, chest pain or dizziness.

Reuters reports:

The hospital said she was “awake and alert as she recovers” in the intensive care unit. Her surgeon, Gerald Lawrie, added: “I expect her to recover fully and soon resume her normal activities.”

Scientists observe black holes in same galaxy

Scientists have seen two black holes dancing together in the same galaxy. It is believed that when galaxies are close together their black holes orbit each other until merging together.

The theory was published in the journal Nature. The work of astronomers at National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Arizona is detailed in the March 5 issue.

Xinhua reports:

The astronomers believe the two orbiting black holes eventually may merge into an even larger single black hole. “They should merge, and we expect them to,” said study team member Tod Lauer.

Scientists believe that as matter falls into black holes it emits a characteristic colour that gives information about where the black hole is traveling. When two black holes orbit each other their colours are slightly different. This is the best evidence of “binary black hole system”.

A pair of black holes exhibiting this behaviour has been spotted by Todd Boroson and Tod Lauer of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. The pair has analysed 17,500 spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The light sources that they have observed are 20 million and one billion times heavier than the Sun.

The Register reports:

NOAO elaborates: “The signature of a black hole in a galaxy has been known for many years. The material falling into a black hole emits light in narrow wavelength regions forming emission lines that can be seen when the light is dispersed into a spectrum.

“These emission lines carry the information about the speed and direction of the black hole and the material falling into it. If two black holes are present, they would orbit each other before merging and would have a characteristic dual signature in their emission lines. This signature has now been found.”

Both of these black holes dwarf the Milky Way.

It is estimated that the quasar, known as SDSS J153636.22+044127.0, appears to host a pair of black holes orbit each other every 100 years.

BBC News reports:

“Previous work has identified potential examples of black holes on their way to merging, but the case presented by Boroson and Lauer is special because the pairing is tighter and the evidence much stronger,” said Jon Miller, an astronomer at the University of Michigan.

Robin Williams in hospital with heart problem

Robin Williams has been hospitalized with a heart issue in a Miami hospital. It’s being reported that the actor, 57, may be laid up for some time.

The comedian has had to cancel four Florida performances of his show, Weapons of Self-Destruction in Hollywood, Orlando and Tampa. He is expected to return to the stage in Jacksonville on Monday to continue his 80 city tour. He has been on the road since September.

Nine MSN reports:

“Williams was experiencing shortness of breath and is currently being evaluated by doctors who are recommending a week of rest,” the statement said.

The LA Times says that the actor is in the ICU.

Obama surprises daughters with White House swing set

The landscape has changed a little at the White House today. When Malia and Sasha Obama came home from school a surprise swing set was waiting for them.

The new swing set sits right outside the Oval Office allowing the President to watch his children at play while he is working. It includes a a tire swing, a slide, a fort, a climbing wall and climbing ropes.

The Obama’s had set to work earlier Wednesday while their daughters were in school for the afternoon surprise. The swing set is an attempt by the parents to make the White House more inviting for their children.

Michelle Obama spokeswoman, Katie McCormick Lelyveld told Fox News that the girls were happy with their parent’s gift.

“They ran right for it. They were really, really excited. All four of them,” McCormick Lelyveld said.

The girls played on the set for almost an hour in chilly weather, she said.

The swing set was manufactured by Rainbow Play Systems based in Brookings, South Dakota company using American Redwood and Cedar lumber.

Woman calls 911 three times when McDonald’s out of McNuggets

A customer at a Fort Pierce, Florida McDonald’s called 911 3 times when the fast food giant informed her they were out of McNuggets. Latreasa L. Goodman, 27, had paid for her 10 piece McNugget meal before being informed that the restaurant had run out.

When employees refused to give her a refund Goodman called 911. After the third call the police showed up. Goodman was cited for misuse of the emergency phone line.

The Desert News reports:

“This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn’t have McNuggets, I wouldn’t have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don’t want one,” Latreasa Goodman told police. “This is an emergency.”

McDonald’s agrees with Ms. Goodman that a refund should have been given at the time. She is being sent a gift card for a free meal and a refund.

The New York Daily News reports:

“We never want to disappoint a McNuggets fan,” Carlos Solorzano, a McDonald’s operation manager, said. “Regarding this isolated incident, we apologize for the inconvenience caused.”

Newsquest may ask employees to take a week off unpaid

The regional newspaper publisher Newsquest could be asking its staff to take an unpaid holiday in order to cut costs very soon.

Newsquest employs more than 6,000 people. They are the publishers of 17 daily newspapers and about 200 weekly papers across the United Kingdom.

The parent company Gannett, based in the United States, has already asked its staff to take a “furlough” last month. Those 31,000 employees are expected to have their unpaid week off by the end of March.

The unpaid week is a way the company hopes to avoid layoffs in the States.

Newsquest has yet to be confirmed. Chief executive, Paul Davidson, is not in the office until the end of the week. At that time it is expected that the staff will be formally informed of the plan.

In December the company imposed a pay freeze and is not increasing salaries until April this year. Staff can expect that the pay freeze will be extended until 2010. The Cheshire division of the company has already received a memo saying there will be no salary reviews this year.

‘Winston Man’ dead at age 68 from cancer

Alan Landers was the face of Winston cigarettes for two decades. On Friday he died after battling throat cancer in Lauderhill, Florida.

Landers, whose legal name was Allan Levine, began smoking as a child. By the time he was on national billboards and the back of magazines as the “Winston Man” he was smoking up to four cartons of cigarettes a day.

The Daily Mail reports:

‘I was required to smoke on the set; constant smoking was required to achieve the correct appearance of the cigarette, ash and butt length,’ he recalled.

In his later years Landers was a staunch anti-smoking advocate taking his fight into the courts.

IB Times reports:

“I have also become aware of the industry’s deceitful attitude toward its customers,” he said in a blog on the tobacco industry.

In December 1995 Florida attorney Norwood “Woody” Wilner sued on Lander’s behalf the nation’s top cigarette makers. The case was on the docket to begin in April.

Howard said that the former model was looking forward to the trial according to the Miami Herald.

“He was full of fight in his heart and his spirit,” Howard said. “But there’s only so much a human body can take.”

Landers was diagnosed in 1987 with lung cancer. He had to have sections from both of his lungs removed. In 1996 he had open heart and double bypass surgery.

“His body was all scarred up from the operations,” said Landers’ brother, Jack Levine. “Toward the end, he had a quarter of a lung left.”

When he died on Friday he was undergoing treatment for throat cancer.

“Looking back on my career, I am ashamed that I helped promote such a lethal and addictive product to the children and adults of this country. Had I understood then what I now understand – that cigarettes are an addictive poison that kills almost 50% of their users – I would never have participated in their mass marketing,” he said in a blog.

Landers death is not the first of cigarette models, actors Wayne McLaren, David McLean and Dick Hammer who modeled for Marlboro all died from lung cancer.

The trial may not take place. In Florida only a parent, child or spouse of the deceased can pick up a case after a death. Lander’s parents are deceased and he did not have children or a wife. His is just one of 9,000 tobacco victims in Florida suing cigarette manufacturer for failing to warn people in the 1960’s and 1970’s of the dangers of smoking.

“He wanted his justice. He wanted his day in court,” Howard said. “And that’s the challenge with all these cigarette cases … When the courts drag out justice, the individuals die.”

Landers is survived by his brother Jack Levine and nieces and nephews. Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.

New Moon Found In Saturn’s G Ring

Saturn’s G ring has one more moon Scientific American announced on Tuesday.
Recent images from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft have shown a moonlet in the G ring.

Xinhua Net reports:

“The discovery of this moonlet, together with other Cassini data,” Hedman said, “should help us make sense of this previously mysterious ring.”

Located in the most outer ring circling Saturn, this still unnamed moonlet is the 61st moon the has been discovered.

E Flux Media reports:

“Before Cassini, the G ring was the only dusty ring that was not clearly associated with a known moon, which made it odd,” said Matthew Hedman, Cassini imaging team associate at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. “The discovery of this moonlet, together with other Cassini data, should help us make sense of this previously mysterious ring.”

The moonlet is fairly small, appearing to be about 0.3 mile in diameter. Scientists believe that the G ring was formed by icy debris that scattered when meteorites crash into the newly found moonlet.
The G ring is only 250 kilometers wide and is believed to contain ice and dust.

National Geographic reports:

“Being one of the bigger objects, the moonlet is likely to be hit more often,” said Matthew Hedman, a member of the Cassini imaging team, based at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. This means the moonlet is probably a significant source of ring material, the scientists say.

Asteroid DD45 just buzzed by Earth

NASA reports that Asteroid DD45 was just 48,800 miles from the Earth Monday morning. That is only about a fifth of the distance to the moon.

The asteroid is between 69 feet and 154 feet in diameter. Another asteroid of that size hit Siberia in 1908. That hit leveled more than 800 square miles of forest.

As Press TV reports,

“It’s not something to worry about, but something to be aware of,” McNaught said on Tuesday. “No object of that size, or larger, has been observed to come closer to the Earth. If discovered in advance and with enough lead time, there is the possibility of pushing it off course, if you have decades of advance warning,” he added. “If you have only a few days, you can evacuate the area of impact, but there’s not a great deal you can do.”

The closest point to the space ball’s close call was near Tahiti. It is thought that 2009 DD45 is now in a solar orbit that intersects the Earth’s orbit.

The asteroid was only spotted by astronomers at the NASA-funded Siding Spring Observatory this past Saturday.

Top News reports:

Definitely, a direct hit on Earth could be a devastating natural disaster, but keeping track of asteroids can make a hit “potentially preventable”, McNaught stated.

Gaza School Children Victim of Food Poisoning

Seven children are in critical condition as a result of food poisoning in Gaza. The police say that about 80 school girls have been sickened at a United Nations school.

Islam Shahwan, police spokesman, said that the children ate food that had passed its expiry date.

The school in Khan Younis is run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. There was no immediate comment by the agency that is in charge of Palestinian refugees.

The children are being treated at Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis. Twenty of those ill have been admitted to the hospital.

It has not been determined if the food was provided by a local shop or by the UN itself.

ICC Has Issued An Arrest Warrant For President of Sudan

An international arrest warrant has been issued for the President of Sudan on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.

This is the court’s first time ordering an arrest of a sitting head of state since the court was founded in 2002.

The arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan listed seven charges; five of crimes against humanity – murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape; two of war crimes – intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population or individual civilians, and pillaging. The charges on the warrant do not include genocide which had been requested by the prosecutor.

A spokesperson for the court has stated that Mr. Bashir is being accused of being personally responsible for “directing attacks against the civilian population” of Darfur and “murdering, raping, and forcibly displacing millions of civilians.”

Times Online reports:

“He is suspected of being criminally responsible…for intentionally directing attacks against an important part of the civilian population of Darfur, murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians and pillaging their property,” said Laurence Blairon, the court spokeswoman.

It is unlikely that President al-Bashir will turn himself into the ICC. Who will serve the warrant is still up in the air. Legally Sudan itself is obliged to arrest him, but that is not expected to happen in the near future. The Hague court has no police or military presence of it’s own. The United Nations peacekeepers that are stationed in Sudan also do not have a mandate to detain war crime suspects.

Were Bashir to travel to any of the 108 nations that are members of the ICC he would be arrested. There are 80 countries that are not court members including the United States.

There are more than 30 witnesses that will testify about the genocidal campaign in Sudan. It has been claimed that the leader controlled a genocidal campaign aimed at wiping out three ethnic African tribes in Darfur, the Western region of the vast nation south of Egypt.

If this action were to cause violence peacekeepers have been prepared to deal with it.

“I am sure there will be some crowd movements. There will be some violence,” said UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy.

Sky News reports that Omar Hassan al Bashir responded about his feelings about the court in the past:

Although there was no immediate response from Khartoum, Bashir said he would regard any warrant as worthless.

“Any decision by the International Criminal Court has no value for us. It will not be worth the ink it is written on,” he said.

Accused pleads not guilty in Greyhound beheading trial

A man accused of stabbing and then beheading a teenager on a Greyhound bus pleaded not guilty in court today. The psychiatrist said the man believed God was telling him to do it.

Last July, 36 terrified passengers watched as a man took a large hunting knife and stab Timothy McLean to death. The passengers rushed off of the Greyhound bus as the man beheaded the young McLean and walked to the front of the bus carrying his head.

The man is now on trial for second-degree murder.

Dr. Stanley Yaren told the court Vince Li, 40, heard the voice of God who told him to attack McLean, mutilate, and then cannibalize part of the body.

“A voice from God told him Mr. McLean was a force of evil and was about to execute him,” Yaren, a witness for the Crown, told the judge hearing the case.

Li pleaded not guilty to the charge of second-degree murder. Li’s legal council are arguing that their client is mentally ill and cannot be held criminally responsible for his actions.

Li was diagnosed as a schizophrenic by Yaren. Yaren told the court that Li continued to mutilate the body, believing it was still capable of coming back to life. Yaren said Li had no understanding that his actions were wrong. The Toronto Star reports:

“It would be in some sense easier if Mr. Li was an anti-social psychopath with a history of malicious behaviour, but he isn’t that. He is, as I’ve come to know him, a decent person. He is as much a victim of this horrendous illness … as Mr. McLean was a victim.”

McLean’s body bore the brunt of more than 100 wounds. Some parts of the body were so ravished that they could not be located.

The court was told that Li came to Canada from China in 2001 as an immigrant with no criminal past. He became a Canadian citizen in 2005. In 2006 he moved to Edmonton from Winnipeg.

Li worked as a caretaker in a church, as a supervisor at a McDonald’s restaurant and as a newspaper carrier. He often missed work because he took long road trips on the bus. His family dealt with long, rambling talks that prompted some to suggest medical treatment. Li refused.

Carol deDelley, mother of Tim McLean, wants the law changed so that anyone found not criminally responsible for a crime still serves time in detention.

It’s bonus time for Google execs

Google’s top brass are a happy bunch right about now. The end-of-fiscal-year bonus checks were rather nice this year. The top men all got bonus checks that most of the country would love to see as their yearly income.

On Tuesday Google announced that performance related bonuses were given to the top executives by the board of directors in 2008.

Jonathon Rosenberg, senior vice-president, product management, was given the highest dollar amount for his work. His check for $1.64 million shows that Google is not having as many problems as other companies during the recession.

In second place on the bonus ladder were Robert Eustace, senior vice president, engineering and research, and Omid Kordestani, senior vice president, global sales and business development, who both took home an extra $1.38 million.

The outgoing CFO, George Reyes, was given $675,000 while his replacement Patrick Pichette pocketed $1.24 million.

Google founders Sergey Brin, Larry and chief executive Eric Schmidt do not receive bonuses. This is standard policy for the trio.

Google reported a net profit of $382 million (USD) during the last quarter of 2008 on revenue of $5.7 billion.

Women In Workplace Could End Recession Says EU Commissioner

Could the key to ending the recession be women in the workplace? That’s what one EU is saying and stats of women run companies may back that theory up.

Studies have shown that women in the workplace makes for businesses that are more efficient. Those businesses also tend to not go for the riskiest investments.

DW-World.De reports:

“Discrimination produces inefficiency,” said European Equals Opportunity Commissioner Vladimir Spidla at the launch of a European campaign against the gender pay gap on Tuesday, March 3. “It is precisely during times of crises that we should be most active.”

One study of 15,000 small and medium sized businesses run in Finland by women tended to be 10 percent more efficient than those run by men.

Another study by Professor Michel Ferrary of the Ceram Business School in France showed French companies that have women on their board of directors perform better on the stock exchange. That study was published in Monday’s Financial Times.

According to figures in Europe only 30 percent of managers are women and only 10 percent of those work in large corporations.

Women are paid on average 14.7 percent less than men doing the same job.

Women in the work force in Europe tend to have lower positions than men. One of the reasons that this is commonplace is that women take more career hiatuses for family matters than males do. This lowers their career pay and the steps on the career ladder.

Teen suing Facebook and former classmates over alleged bullying

An Oceanside, New York teen is suing four former classmates, their parents and Facebook for allegedly bullying her on the social network site. Denise Finkel is seeking $3 million for damages.

Newsday reports:

Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said, “We see no merit to this suit and we will fight it vigorously.

Now a student at the University of Albany, Finkle filed the lawsuit in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. She is accusing her former classmates of creating a password-protected Facebook group for the sole purpose of “calculating to hold the plaintiff up to public hatred, ridicule and disgrace.”

The defendants, Michael Dauber, Jeffrey Schwartz, Leah Herz and Melinda Danowitz all graduated from Oceanside High School in 2008. According to Finkle the group made hateful claims including that she participated in bestiality and contracted AIDS.

Newsday reports:

Danowitz’s mother, Bari Lewis, called the lawsuit “completely frivolous.” She said her daughter, who attends the University of Delaware, “never wrote anything defamatory about anybody.”

While excerpts of the 2007 Facebook group did not name Finkle by name her lawyer, Mark Altschul of Manhattan, says that the statements referred to her.

The Baltimore Sun reports:

“She had a very difficult time in high school,” Altschul said. “They were making sure that she was an unwanted soul there.”

Poor people driving growth of cellphone industry

Six out of every ten people in the world now own a mobile phone. According to a UN report, cell phones are the communications technology of choice, particularly in poorer countries.

In 2002 there were 1 billion cell phone subscriptions worldwide. That figure has quadrupled with 4.1 billion subscriptions counted at the end of 2008.

Shanghai Daily reports:

“There has been a clear shift to mobile cellular telephony,” the agency said, noting that developing countries now account for about two-thirds of cell phones in use.

In 2002, less than half of mobile phone subscriptions were in the developing world. Today in Africa, 28 per cent of the population has a cellular subscription according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

Worldwide, there are three times as many cell phone subscriptions than landline ones. In some Asian and European countries, people have more than one contract each, pushing for an almost 100 per cent user coverage.

The Independent reports:

Fixed Internet access in developing countries is still limited, and, where available, often slow and/or expensive,” it said in the report that ranked countries’ information and communication technologies (ICT) as of 2007, the last year for which figures were available.

Fixed phone lines have only grown from 1 billion to 1.27 billion in the same time period.

As for the Internet, 23 per cent of people on the planet logged in last year compared to just 11 per cent in 2002. Poorer countries still lag behind when it comes to Internet access. In Africa, only 1 in 20 people had fast Internet access in their homes.

Sweden comes in first with the most citizens using communications technology with South Korea just behind despite the standard low per capita income. Denmark came third, ahead of the Netherlands, Iceland and Norway. Surprisingly neither Canada nor the United States were in the top ten of the ICT Development Index 2007 rating (2002 Ranking).

1 in 31 U.S. Adults on Parole or Probation

According to the Pew Center on the States, the number of American citizens on probation or parole has skyrocketed to more than 7.3 million. A report recently released reveals that nearly 90 per cent of state corrections is spent on prisons.

The report, One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections, examined the scale and cost that each of the 50 states spend on prison, jail, probation and parole. It also provided a blueprint to cut costs and fund a stronger supervision of those offenders that have been released and are in the community.

The Associated Press reports:

“A crisis is a terrible thing to waste,” said Susan Urahn, managing director of the Center on the States. “The economy opens a window of opportunity to do things that are not always easy to do.”

In a press release The Pew Center on the States reports:

“Most states are facing serious budget deficits,” said Urahn. “Every single one of them should be making smart investments in community corrections that will help them cut costs and improve outcomes.”

In the past 20 years spending on the penal system has increased 300 percent. That increase is the second largest spending increase. The spending is much more than any other government service including education and public assistance. Only Medicaid’s spending has grown at a more rapid pace.

National taxpayers are footing the $68 billion cost of the correction system each year. This huge rate of spending has not changed the system as recidivism rates have remained largely unchanged.

One way to recidivism rates would be to have strong community supervision programs for low-risk, non-violent offenders. Properly managed these programs can cut recidivism by as much as 30 percent.

The Pew Center report shows that two-thirds of these offenders are already in the community yet most of the costs are in the prison systems. With 1 in 45 adults is on probation or parole and 1 in 100 is in prison or jail more needs to be done for that community support.

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Georgia, Idaho, Texas, Massachusetts, Ohio and the District of Columbia have the highest number of adults in some form of the penal system. In Georgia 1 in 13 adults is either behind bars or under community supervision.

The corrections system has a definite race difference. In the United States 1 out of every 11 black adults is in the system greatly differing from the 1 out of every 45 white adults. Hispanic adults have a rate of 1 in 27 in the prison system in some degree.

More men (1 out of 18) are in the penal system than women (1 out of 89).

Some neighborhoods have extremely high numbers of their citizens in the penal system, including Detroit’s East Side with 1 in 7 adult men within the system.

The report also shows the high costs associated with the huge prison population. Thirty-four states spent $18.5 billion on prisons in 2008 while only spending $2.53 billion on probation and parole. The average cost to house an inmate is $79 a day compared to the $3.42 per day for probationers to $7.47 per day for parolees.

Violent and career criminals need to be locked up, and for a long time. But our research shows that prisons are housing too many people who can be managed safely and held accountable in the community at far lower cost,” said Adam Gelb, director of the Pew Center on the States’ Public Safety Performance Project, which produced the report. “New community supervision strategies and technologies need to be strengthened and expanded, not scaled back. Cutting them may appear to save a few dollars, but it doesn’t. It will fuel the cycle of more crime, more victims, more arrests, more prosecutions, and still more imprisonment.”

Iran confirms that Roxana Saberi held at Evin Jail

With the world media breathing down Iran’s neck for the location of freelance journalist Roxana Saberi has been confirmed to be housed at Evin Jail by Judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi.

While Jamshidi did not say what the American journalist was being held for he did hold a news conference. There he told reporters that a revolutionary court, which under Iran’s legal system deals with state security issues as well as other areas of the law, had decided on her detention.

Reuters reports:

“Upon the ruling issued by the revolutionary court she is now in detention at Evin prison,” Jamshidi said. “I don’t know anything about the charges against her.”

Evin prison is where rights group contend that political prisoners are taken. After the 1979 Islamic revolution the prison was the location that those who backed the U.S.-back shah were taken, some of those were executed behind the prison walls.

The U.S. State Department has requested Switzerland to seek information about the American-born Saberi. Switerland represents U.S. interests in Tehran. There has yet to have any response back.

The last time Saberi was heard from was a phone call to Fargo, North Dakota two weeks ago in February with her father. She told Reza Saberi that she had been arrested for buying win. Her father confirmed that her credentials as a journalist had been revoked in Iran but she stayed on working on her master’s degree and writing a book about Iranian society.

Daniel Leblanc willing to do jailtime rather than give up source

Globe and Mail journalist Daniel Leblanc, who helped to expose the federal sponsorship scandal, is due to appear in court mid-March to expose his source. Leblanc says he’d rather go to jail than reveal his source in court.

CBC News reports that when Leblanc stands before Judge Jean-François de Grandpré he may have to give up his own freedom:

“This was a source who blew the whistle in the public interest on massive fraud so I’m willing to go wherever it needs to go,” he told CBC on Sunday.

Leblanc understands that when he appears in court he could be order to pay a fine or sent to jail for refusing to answer the court’s questions. The only name that has been used for the journalist’s source is “Ma chouette.”

That source gave Leblanc the information he needed to begin investigating the sponsorship scandal that helped drive the Liberal party out of the 2006 federal election. The Liberal party was devastated in Quebec when it was revealed that millions of taxpayer dollars lined the pockets of Liberal-friendly advertising firms. Little to no work came from those payments.

The federal government is suing Group Polygone for $35 million that was paid to them by the former Liberal government under the sponsorship program. Group Polygone is demanding to know the identity of the source that Leblanc was fed information by.

The Quebec Federation of Journalists’ president Francois Bourque says that Leblanc should not be forced to reveal his source.

“You can imagine the consequences of that because from now on, if you allow that to happen, it means that no civil servant in the future will feel free to talk to a journalist when he witnesses some wrongdoing in the public use of money,” he said.

Bloc Québécois MP Carole Freeman called for the federal government to protect Leblanc last week in the House of Commons.

Mother Cries As Second Son In Months Is Murdered In Palmetto, Fl.

Shoots blazed Saturday morning at a rooming house in Palmetto, Florida. In the end a 18-year-old laid dead and his mother’s cry filled the air.
Tevin Yawn was shoot multiple times after gun toting men came in the back door at the home in the 2300 block of Fifth Avenue Drive East.

He collapsed in the back yard as his mother Patrise Blue tried to get help.

A woman who was at the residence at the time of the shooting said she heard several rounds fired. The Bradenton Herald quotes her:

“The mother was yelling, ‘Somebody please call 911; Tevin’s been shot and he ain’t breathing,’ ” the woman said. “It was sad. I have an 18-year-old son, and I would die if he was shot.”

When paramedics arrived they pronounced the young man dead at the scene.

Ms. Blue’s older son Glover A. Yawn, 21, died on Christmas morning last year at the same residence. He was shot in the front yard. Glover had lived a hard life in his short time on this Earth. In November he had been released from prison for battery and selling cocaine.

Now his younger brother Tevin has come to the same fate and a mother is left to grieve two sons killed within months of each other.

The Bradenton Police say that approximately 30 shots were fired just an hour later Saturday morning in the 2100 block of 15th Street East. No one other was injured there.

Police are investigating both scenes to see if there is a connection. It is believed that Yawn’s shooting was a result of an argument at The Hall, a nightclub in Palmetto.

Yawn’s death is the seventh homicide in Manatee County this year. Three of those deaths have not had an arrest at this date.

The police are asking those with information on Yawn’s murder to contact them at:

Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Detective Jeff Bliss at 747-3011 ext. 2159 or remain anonymous by calling Crimestoppers at (866) 634-TIPS (8477).

Police Find Shadow The Kitten Stuffed Inside Bong

A Nebraska kitten named Shadow was rescued from her owner Sunday. The man, 20, told police he was trying to ‘calm’ her because she had been hyper. The device he used to calm the kitten was a bong filled with and Shadow marijuana.
The suspect was caught smoking from a bong that contained the kitten inside. They had come to the Lancaster County home that 6-month-old Shadow lived at after receiving a call about a domestic disturbance.

The police resolved the dispute at the home of the young man and his grandfather. A few short minutes later the authorities returned when they discovered there was an arrest warrant out for the 20-year-old for suspect for possession of drug paraphernalia.

When the police re-entered the home they watched the man smoking marijuana though a piece of garden hose attached to a plastic glass box sealed with duct tape. Inside the box was Shadow.

The Associated Press reports:

“This cat was just dazed,” Sgt. Andy Stebbing said. “She was on the front seat of the cop car, wrapped in a blanket, and never moved all the way to the humane society.”

Shadow is now staying at the Capital Humane Society.

The man was taken to Lancaster County Jail on the arrest warrant. He now faces additional charges of misdemeanor animal cruelty and possession of marijuana and paraphernalia from Sunday. After paying a $400 the man was released.

If Shadow were to die or have any lung damage the man’s animal cruelty charge could be raised to a felony.

Erik Prince Steps Down As Blackwater CEO

The founder of Blackwater security company, founded in 1997 has stepped down as CEO and appointed new leaders. Prince will still helm the chair but no longer be involved in day to day operations.
The Washington Post quotes Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater.

“This started as a field of dreams: Build it, and they will come,” Prince told The Post two years ago. “It was a little success that led to another success to another success.”

Erik Prince used his inheritance from an auto parts store to build Blackwater. Depending on who is asked that company is either the world’s most respected or detested defense company in the world.

AFP reports:

“After a lengthy process of identifying the right people for the job, I am pleased to announce that we have two very capable individuals ready to sit at the company’s helm,” Prince said in a statement.

Prince has named Joseph Yorio as the new president of the company replacing executive Gary Jackson. Jackson is retiring. The new chief operating officer and executive vice president is Danielle Esposito.

Erik Prince will stay on as chairman of the company but no longer see to the day to day operations.

The company will continue to expand its training for law enforcement with a focus on international clients. Blackwater trained 25,000 people last year from civilians to law enforcement and military personnel.

Blackwater became headline news when it won the contract to protect United States diplomats in Iraq. Since that time questionable ethics have plagued the company. Prince’s contributions to politicians just being one of the questionable acts. Thousands of dollars were given to Pat Buchanan, Oliver North, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), among others.

In January Iraq ordered that the security company leave following charges of five of the company’s contractors with manslaughter and weapons violations. Shortly after Blackwater was told to leave Iraq they changed the company name to “Xe” to promote that the company is changing or as “what it is today and not what it used to be,” as a company spokeswoman put it.

Spokane, Washington Man Gets $81 Billion Gas Bill

Earlier this week Juan Zamora went to a local gas station to fill up his car for the usual $28.00. That fill up was about to cost him just a tad bit more than usual.
Juan Zamora drives once a week to a gas station to fuel up for his 700 mile weekly commute between Spokane to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Richland, WA. His last trip to the station resulted in a bill for $81,400,836,908.

The insane amount was approved. Zamora got a message of that approval by voice mail from a PayPal alert when he returned home.

MSNBC reports:

“I didn’t believe the amount myself,” he said. “So I played it over and over again.”

After hours on the phone someone at the bank figured out a mistake had been made. It cost Zamora a few hours from work but at least he doesn’t have to approach congress for a bail out.

WWMT reports:

“I think I dropped the phone once or twice. I was about ready to look up the president’s phone number to see if I could get a bailout package,” said Juan Zamora.

Zamora was told the company used the merchant number and not the dollar figure from the pump.

Guinea-Bissau President and Army Head Dead In Separate Attacks

The President and head of the army in Guinea-Bissau have been killed in separate attacks just hours apart. Guinea-Bissau is one of the five poorest nations in the world.
The Associated Press reports:

The African Union condemned the killings, calling them “cowardly and heinous attacks which have come at a time of renewed efforts by the international community to support peace-building efforts in Guinea-Bissau.”

President Joao Bernardo Vieira attempted to flee his home in the nation’s capital of Bissau when he was gunned down. General Tagme Na Waie died during a bombing at the army headquarters.

An army spokesperson said that the army was responsible for the death of President Vieira. The assassination was the for an earlier attempt on General Tagme Na Waie’s life.

Vieira had been the target of soldiers in November when at least one guard was killed by soldiers using automatic weapons.

Waie had also survived an earlier attack in January. He had been ordered to go to the presidency at once at that time. When he went outside to comply with the order gunmen opened fire on his car. He escaped but assumed that the attack had been ordered by Vieira.

Times Online reports:

“President Vieira was killed by the army as he tried to flee his house,” said Zamora Induta. He said that the President was “taken down by bullets fired by … soldiers.”

This was the second time that President Vieira ruled the small African nation. From 1980 to 1999 he ruled before being deposed during a military coup. He was reinstalled as President in 2005 after returning to the country in 2004 from exile.

Tensions between the army and the President though had not lessened as Vieria tried to crackdown on the cocaine industry.

“There is no mutiny aspect to the bombing. It looks more like a drugs hit,” said one analyst. The murder of Mr Vieira was a revenge attack by General Na Waie’s army loyalists.

2 Glasses of Milk A Day May Protect The Elderly From Alzheimer’s

A new study shows that two glasses of milk a day may starve off Alzheimer’s Disease. The international team lead by Oxford University has found that the key vitamin B12 is what reduces neurological damage to the brain.
The study also revealed that elderly patients with low levels of B12 suffer more shrinkage to the brain than those with higher levels.

Professor David Smith says downing just two glasses of milk a day is enough to increase the vitamin B12 that the elderly would need.

The Telegraph reports:

“These patients have had nerve cells that have died, so it is unlikely we are ever going to be able to find ways of repairing that damage or treating them with drugs.

“Instead we have to look at preventing it in the first place. Our study shows that consuming around half a litre of milk or more per day, and it can be skimmed milk, could take someone who has marginal levels of B12 into the safe range. But even drinking just two glasses a day can protect against having low levels.”

The researchers believe that it may be possible to protect people from degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease just by making sure that their dietary intake of the vitamin is at an adequate level.

Times of India reports:

“Our study shows that consuming around half a litre of milk or more per day, and it can be skimmed milk, could take someone who has marginal levels of B12 into the safe range. But drinking just two glasses a day can protect against having low levels,” ‘The Daily Telegraph’ quoted Smith as saying.

Young Azharuddin Ismail star of Slumdog Millionaire Is Ill

Young Azharuddin Ismail star of Slumdog Millionaire has become very ill. After returning to India the actor has developed a 103 degree temperature.
Azhar has been seen by local doctors who prescribed antibiotics saying that he is suffering from fever and exhaustion. His condition has started to worsen.

Neighbours have built the family a 8ft by 5ft metal structure to protect the child from the elements.

Both Azhar’s family and the family of Rubina Ali say their children are having a hard time readjusting to the poverty of the slums after going to California for a week to attend the Oscars.

The Telegraph reports:

Rubina’s father Rafiq Qureshi said. “Getting used to life back here in the slum again is proving tough for her and she has not wanted to see her friends since she got back. She just wants to spend all her time away from the slum now and I just hope we get the flat that has been promised to us.”

It’s not surprising that the children are missing the items that most in the West take for granted; soft beds, toilets and clean water. Social workers agree that returning the children to the slums is almost to cruel. They have asked for the two to be placed in care and given protection either by Danny Boyle and the film production company or by Indian authorities.

“I cannot believe these kids have just been left like this after being taken to Hollywood. It is bound to affect them psychologically,” said social worker Sanjay Bhatia, who works in the slum.

What also is driving this request for care is the beating young Azhar took at his father’s hands on Friday. The child was beaten for being too tired to speak to a journalist who was offering the young actor’s father money.

Toilet Paper Is Worse On The Environment Than Gas Guzzling Cars

Are you using a product that causes more environmental problems than a gas guzzling car? Do you pride yourself on being green and yet purchase something every week that is helping to destroy virgin rain forests? Chances are you are.
North Americans have a love affair with soft, quilted toilet paper. The more layers the better to gently clean up with after a bathroom break. Those multi-ply sheets are generally from virgin forests in North America. Almost all toilet paper sold in Canada and the United States is damaging to the environment. In Europe 40 percent of toilet paper comes from recycled products compared to the 2 percent in North America. This week Greenpeace wants you to know that what you flush down the drain is harmful to the planet.

There’s a myth in North America that recycled toilet paper is like cardboard. It just isn’t so.

While it may be nice to wipe up with three ply sheets glistening with lotion to keep your bum nice and soft it is not needed to do the job.

Those selling these products have no issue using virgin lumber to pamper their customers bottoms.

The Guardian reports:

“For bath tissue Americans in particular like the softness and strength that virgin fibres provides,” Dave Dixon, a company spokesman for Kimberly-Clark said. “It’s the quality and softness the consumers in America have come to expect.”

Next time you sit down on the throne ponder your choice in toilet paper. Could you make a move that helps the environment or is it better to have a quilted sheet to clean your tush?

Lisa Pagan’s Kids Will Tag Along When Mom Returns to Service

Lisa Pagan was honorably discharged from the Army four years ago. She settled down and had two children with husband Travis. Everything was wonderful until she received an order to return to service.
That order can be issued at anytime for the thousands of former service members who have time left on their original enlistment contracts. It doesn’t matter that they are not getting a salary or training, they are on “individual ready reserve” status, property of the United States.

Lisa Pagan is reporting to duty on Sunday with a little extra packaging, her two children. She has no choice. Husband Travis travels for work and there is no one else who can take care of the children. Pagan tried to appeal the order but her claim was rejected. That left her with two choices; refuse the order and face charges or deploy to Iraq and abandon her children. She decided to shake things up instead. The kids are coming with her to Fort Benning, Georgia on sunday.

The Lakeland Ledger reports:

“I guess they’ll have to contact the highest person at the base, and they’ll have to decide from there what to do,” Pagan said. “I either report and bring the children with me or don’t report and face dishonorable discharge and possibly being arrested. I guess I’ll just have to make my case while I’m there.”

When she gets to the base her commander will have to decide what to do with her. 7,500 of the 25,000 ready reserve troops who have been recalled since 2001 have been granted deferments or exemptions. About a thousand have refused to report to duty. While the chances are high that Pagan won’t face charges she could be given an “other than honorable” discharge.

“The Army tries to look at the whole picture and they definitely don’t want to do anything that jeopardizes the family or jeopardizes the children,” O’Donnell said. “At the same time, these are individuals who made obligations and commitments to the country.”

It’s not that Pagan hasn’t given time to protect the US. She joined the service in September 2002 and served until 2005. She met her husband Travis while they were both stationed in Hawaii. She always knew she could be recalled but to survive she buried that information in the back of her mind.

“When I enlisted, they said almost nobody gets called back when you’re in the IRR,” she said.

Travis got a job as a salesman near Charlotte, North Carolina in the college town of Davidson. Lisa enjoyed the pleasures of being a stay-at-home mom to Eric, 3, and Elizabeth, 4. She opened a home daycare and started taking a few classes at Fayetteville State.

She first got the return orders in December 2007. She told the Army that no one could take care of her kids. If Travis quit his job to be at home with the children the family would face bankruptcy and foreclosure. The couples parents live in New Jersey and Texas and are not able to help out with child care.

The Army didn’t care then. She filed another appeal after hiring lawyer Mark Waple including a letter from Travis’s employer.

“In order for Travis to remain an employee, he will be required to travel.”

The answer from that appeal came in December. Rejected.

So Lisa Pagan will appear before her commanding officer today with Eric and Elizabeth. That commander will have to decide if he wants to ship a mother to Iraq and put two children into the foster care program.

“Usually the only way that someone can get out of the deployment or get out of the military due to a family hardship is if they get into a situation where the kids will be put into foster care,” Tarantino said.

“That’s how serious it has to be, and I’m sure what the military is telling her — and I’m not saying that this is exactly the right answer — but the fact that it is inconvenient for her husband’s job is not the military’s problem. It’s very harsh.”

Let’s hope for Eric and Elizabeth’s sake the commander thinks with his heart and not with the rule books.

Yoga Shows Promising Benefits For Breast Cancer Patients

Doctors have found that yoga brings emotional benefits to women with breast cancer. Those in a recent study had a 50% reduction in depression and a 12% increase in feelings of peace after taking a RY yoga course.
A study recently published in Psycho-Oncology showed that women who undertook a ten week program of 75 minute Restorative Yoga (RY) classes had positive gains with depression, positive emotions and calming spirituality as compared to a control group. RY is a type of yoga that is more passive and gentle which allows people in differing levels of wellness to practice it.

Forty-four women with breast cancer took part in the study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The groups were split in half, one taking the yoga classes and the others in the wait list. The majority of those in the study had already completed their cancer treatments with 34% still being treated. The participants were given a questionnaire at the start and end of the ten week program. The answers showed that those in the RY program experienced a wide range of benefits compared to those in the control group. After the study was completed those in the control group were invited to attend identical RY classes.

Medical News Today reports:

“Evidence from systematic reviews of randomized trials is quite strong that mind-body therapies improve mood, quality of life, and treatment-related symptoms in people with cancer. Yoga is one mind-body therapy that is widely available and involves relatively reasonable costs,” said lead researcher Suzanne Danhauer, Ph.D., based at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. “Given the high levels of stress and distress that many women with breast cancer experience, the opportunity to experience feeling more peaceful and calm in the midst of breast cancer is a significant benefit.”

Surprisingly those with higher negative emotions and lower emotional well-being were the women who most benefited from the yoga classes.

With yoga being so widely available at reasonable costs this research can benefit many women. Suzanne Danhauer says that the promising results are allowing the researchers to embark on a larger scale study reports Science Daily.

“Evidence from systematic reviews of randomized trials is quite strong that mind-body therapies improve mood, quality of life and treatment-related symptoms in people with cancer,” Danhauer said. “Yoga is one mind-body therapy that is widely available and involves relatively reasonable costs.”

The End of The Rest of the Story- Paul Harvey Dead At 90

Paul Harvey has died at the age of 90 in Arizona. Famous for his radio spots “The Rest of the Story,” Harvey began his career in 1951 for the ABC Radio Networks.
Harvey has been credited for the terms “skyjacker,” “Reaganomics” and “guesstimate,” words that changed the culture of news and commentary.

The Associated Press reports:

“Paul Harvey was one of the most gifted and beloved broadcasters in our nation’s history,” ABC Radio Networks President Jim Robinson said in a statement. “We will miss our dear friend tremendously and are grateful for the many years we were so fortunate to have known him.”

In 1990 Harvey was an inductee to the Radio Hall of Fame and was chosen as a recipient of the presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004.

Rising at 3:30 a.m. each morning Harvey combed the news wires and spoke with editors across the country to prepare for his twice-daily news commentaries until his death other than a period in 2001. At that time a virus weakened his vocal cord, silencing one of the most famous voices on radio for a time.

In 1970 Harvey announced his opposition to President Nixon’s expansion of the Vietnam War and urged him to get out completely.

“Mr. President, I love you … but you’re wrong,” Harvey said, shocking his faithful listeners and drawing a barrage of letters and phone calls, including one from the White House.

At the age of 82 he signed a new 10-year contract with ABC Radio Networks in 2000.

Harvey met his wife Lynne in St. Louis while working at KXOK. He reportedly asked her to marry him on their first date. They married in 1940 and had son Paul, Jr.

Lynne was Harvey’s producer. He always credited her for his success. She died in May 2008.

Harvey is survived by his son Paul Harvey, Jr. who said in a statement today:

“My father and mother created from thin air what one day became radio and television news,” Paul Harvey Jr. said in a statement. “So in the past year, an industry has lost its godparents and today millions have lost a friend.”

Howard Stringer To Become President of Sony April 1

Howard Stringer has taken on the role of president at Sony, the Japanese company. Stringer was already the CEO and current Chairman. This move puts Stringer in total control as current president Ryoji Chubachi slides into the vice chairman seat.
The charges are slated to start April 1.

No this isn’t an April Fool’s Joke but the reality for Sony. Other plans are to set up two separate groups, one covering PlayStation and Vaio PCs while the other handles Bravia flat TVS, Cyber-shot digital cameras and Handycam camcorders. Kaz Hirai will head the division overseeing computers and gaming systems. He is a veteran of Sony who speaks fluent English. American Kunimasa Suzuki, Currently Sony Electronics President will become the senior vice president of Sony and deputy president of the new group.

Stringer was the first foreign executive to lead the Tokyo-based company when he took the reins in 2005. Since that time Sony has yet to be restored to its glory days as the head of the pack in media products.

Market Watch reports:

“This reorganization is designed to transform Sony into a more innovative, integrated and agile global company with its next generation of leadership firmly in place,” Stringer said in a statement Friday. “The changes we are announcing today will accelerate the transformation of the company that began many years ago.”

The changes announced come one month after Sony announced that for the first time in 14 years it had an entire year loss. Because of that Sony has been forced to cut 16,000 jobs from the electronic operations department and close six plants. The goal there is to save more than 100 billion yen in annual costs.

By the end of the financial year ending next month Sony is expecting to have an operating loss of 260 billion yen.

PC World reports:

“The changes we’re announcing today will accelerate the transformation of the Company that began four years ago,” Stringer said in a statement. “They will now make it possible for all of Sony’s parts to work together to assume a position of worldwide leadership and, together, achieve great things.”

Ohio Police Ticket Driving Nursing Mother

Breast feeding and driving are two things that should not go together. That didn’t stop Ohio driver Genine Compton though from feeding her child while driving in Kettering.
The multi-tasking mother was not only giving her infant nourishment while driving, she was able to chat on her cell phone in the process.

After a phoned-in report about a nursing mother endangering motorists, Kettering police tracked down Compton using her license plate number.

Compton, 39, admitted to officer Michael Burke that she was breastfeeding her child while driving. She stated that she would not let her baby go hungry.

Burke ticketed the mother, not for nursing but for having the child in her lap while she was driving. The official charge was child endangerment.

Compton faces up to 180 days in jail and a fine of $1,800 if she is convicted of the misdemeanor.

Bruce Willis Sued For $4 Million

Actor Bruce Willis and his production company are being sued for breach of contract. Foresight Unlimited, Signature Entertainment Group and Three Stories Productions are asking for $4 million from the actor.
The three companies claim that there was a signed deal for Willis to direct and star inThree Stories about Joan.It’s said that the actor walked off the set for personal reasons.

Willis was slated to get paid $196,404 for directing the film according to The Hindu. One of Willis’ legal representatives, Marty Singer has called the law suit absurd. He claims that the movie folded because the producers didn’t have the funds to pay their cast and crew. Singer also said that Willis will sue for the fee that the producers promised.

The case was filed Friday in L.A. Superior Court.

Willis’ attorney Henry Gradstein says that the courts will decide the the matter.

Willis has starred in the Die Hard series, Unbreakable, Pulp Fiction, 16 Blocks, The Sixth Sense and most recently What Just Happened.

UK’s Teen Pregnancy And Abortion Rates Rose in 2007

Britain is having an epidemic of pregnant teenagers and a record number of girls under the age of 18 are opting for an abortion. Some sides are encouraged by the rate of abortions while others are more concerned that young girls are engaging in risky sex.
Official figures from the UK show that more than 21,000 girls under the age of 18 have terminated a pregnancy in 2007. This is the first time that abortion rates have hit the 50 percent mark with pregnant women.

In 2007 the conception rate of girls under 18 was 41.9 per 1,000. Even more startling was that 8,196 pregnancies in 2007 were with mothers under the age of 16.

The Telegraph reports on that proportion of girls choosing to abort those pregnancies is 50/50.

Ann Furedi, chief executive of the charity the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), the UK’s largest abortion provider, said: “The fact that half of the teenagers in this position felt able to end their pregnancy in abortion is actually a positive sign.”

Not everyone is looking at the higher abortion rate as a positive measure. many believe that the focus should be on the high pregnancy rate among young women.

“Instead of endless reviews and leaflets for parents, ministers need to ensure that all of our young people are getting the relationship and sex education they need,” Annette Brooke, the Liberal Democrat Children Spokesperson said.

While some areas have actually seen lower pregnancy rates that is not the overall picture coming out of the UK. That is something that activists are calling to the government to key in on.

The Independent reports:

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: “This is another Government target missed.

“Once again it demonstrates how pointless it is to set targets if the Government doesn’t do what is needed to deliver on them.

“Reducing teenage pregnancy requires more than teaching children about sex.

“It requires a supportive and responsible family together with high-quality relationship education which gives teenagers the self-confidence and guidance needed to recognise their interest in avoiding early and unprotected sexual intercourse.”

The high rate shows that more teenagers are having unprotected sex and may be engaging in risky behaviour.

“Our strategy is to encourage teenagers to delay early sexual activity, but to use contraception when they do become sexually active,” said Beverley Hughes, the Children and Young People’s Minister.

Hilary Pannack, of the sex education charity Straight Talking, believes that the nation is failing its children. The fact is that teenage parents often have children who are themselves teenage parents. Those families tend to be in the lower economic groups.

Sergey Tuganov Dropped Dead After Sex And a Bottle of Viagra

A Russian man took a gamble on a bottle of Viagra and two sexy gal pals. The ladies had bet the 28-year-old he couldn’t keep up with them for a half day of bed gymnastics. It turns out the ladies were right. He dropped dead of a heart attack.
Sergey Tuganov was bound and determined to win £3,000 from the women who bet him that he would not satisfy them non-stop for 12 hours. That’s the reason he downed an entire bottle of Viagra pills. He won the bet 12 hours later and promptly dropped dead of a heart attack.

Fox News quotes one of the ladies:

“We called emergency services but it was too late, there was nothing they could do,” said one of the female participants who identified herself only as Alina.

If you are thinking this is a stunt you’d like to pull be forewarned. A dose of Viagra can cause acid indigestion, diarrhea, flushing, headache, and nasal congestion. Rare side effects of using Viagra may include blindness, heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, asthma, and sudden death. That’s from one pill. Taking a bottle is not a good idea.

Former NPR Reporter David Malakoff Busted On Kiddie Porn Charges

Former NPR reporter David Malakoff has been charged in a child porn case. The science editor and correspondent for NPR resigned last June about the same time he was charged with possessing child pornography.
David Malakoff is accused of possessing the illegal material between April and June of last year. He was named in a felony criminal information filed Tuesday in Washington D.C..

There are few details on the crimes that 46-year-old Malakoff is being charged with. It is being speculated that the files of online porn was kept in his office and not at his home.

The document states the David Malakoff did unlawfully and knowingly possess child pornography that had been mailed, shipped and transported as interstate commerce, by any means, including by computer.

Prosecutors say that Malakoff faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. He has yet to make his first court appearance, which has not been scheduled.

Because Malakoff was charged by information it indicates that a plea agreement may have already have taken place. A charge of information can only happen if a person waives the right for a grand jury to hear evidence.

Prior to his time at NPR, Malakoff worked at Science magazine. His articles have appeared in the Economist, The Washington Post, and ABCNews.com.

No Free Hot Lunch In Albuquerque Schools

When mom and dad don’t pay up kids get stuck with a cheese sandwich. That’s the fate in Albuquerque school lunch rooms for kids without the coins to pay for a lunch.
There is no free hot lunch in the Albuquerque Public Schools for parents unwilling to pay the tab. If the tab is unpaid, students are given a cheese sandwich, piece of fruit and milk carton to sate them until parents pay up. The schools are having to put this policy in effect to keep budgets on line and still allow children a meal, just not a hot one. Chula Vista, Calif., Hillsborough County, Fla., and Lynnwood, Wash. are also changing to the cheese sandwich policy.

Some critics are saying that the cold meal is a punishment to children whose parents simply can’t afford to pay. Not paying is just what has happened in Albuquerque, to the tune of $140,000 through the first five months of this school year. If the debt keeps on the same pattern by the end of the school year the department will be dealing with about $300,000 in food debt. That debt has risen sharply from the $55,000 that was unpaid for school lunches in 2006.

In New Mexico alone there are almost 204,000 low-income students. Those students are entitled to a free or reduced-price lunch from federal funding. When a family hasn’t qualified though there are no funds to bail out the schools unlike federal bailouts for the banks.

MSNBC reports:

“We can’t use any federal lunch program money to pay what they call bad debt. It has to come out of the general budget and of course that takes it from some other department,” Mary Swift, director of Albuquerque’s food and nutrition services said.

Since the new policy begin a little over $50,000 of the debt has been collected. There are also 2,000 students who are receiving free or reduced lunches. Getting more children in the lunch program means more federal dollars to put into the district.

As for the critics giving Albuquerque Public Schools a hard time, Swift says the kids are still getting a lunch. That is more than other school districts do when kids come empty handed to class..

Albuquerque Public Schools “has historically gone above and beyond as far as treating children with dignity and respect and trying to do what’s best with for the child and I think this is just another example,” Swift said.

For White Collar Criminals There Are Prison Life Coaches

There’s a life coach for everything these days, including one for white collar criminals about to hit a jail cell. Larry Levine is one of those men who help the wealthy adjust to the idea of hard time.
The wealthiest soon-to-be prisoners have employed coaches for quite some time to prep for their prison terms. Martha Stewart and Ivan Boesky are former students.

New consultants are turning to the Internet to reach out to those white collar members that have faced the wrong side of a gravel. These jail gurus are former prison staffers, disbarred lawyers and self-trained former jailhouse lawyers ready to help out the jail bound, for a price. That price can be a few hundred bucks or a couple thousands. For those fees the soon-to-be jail bird gets the inside track on how to file a grievance, obtain a desirable prison job or get transferred to a nicer lockup. They also are tutored on how to shave time off of their prison sentence.

More importantly the recent top guns in the business world learn how to blend in with the residents on their cell block. That information can be a life saver.

Tom Miller who runs a San Diego business called Dr. Prison tells the LA Times:

“When I went in, my first cellie was a white supremacist shot-caller named Pinky,” Miller says. “He was absolutely huge. He had Nazi signs on his toes. He started talking about some of his crimes and one of them was the rape of another inmate. . . . I was absolutely panicked.”

Some of the lessons taught include staying with ones own race and not joining a gang. Honesty is the only policy behind the prison walls. Don’t be a tattle tale and remember this is not the time to make lasting friendships.

Larry Levine runs Fedtime 101. He deals only with federal cases and bases his lessons on the 10 years he spent in federal prisons for drug dealing and securities fraud. He only takes cash for his services.

Last year he raked in over $100,000 from his 40 paying clients. Most of the time though he doesn’t meet face to face with those paying him. Being in contact with a felon could land him back in the cell block.

“Show ultimate respect. Be courteous. People are under a lot of stress in prison,” he says. “Don’t argue. Don’t confront. . . . I knew people were lying to me all the time. . . . ‘Hey, you want to be Elvis? Bigfoot? Thank you, Mr. President!’ I didn’t care what or who they wanted to be. I was just doing my own time.”

Levine also advices some that are facing the judge. One of those was Chris Upchurch who was indicted on mortgage fraud last year. Upchurch called to chat with Levine before he even got busted when he felt the heat of the FBI on his neck. He also gave him advice on his plea which was the opposite of his lawyers who told him to plead not guilty and go for a jury trial.

Levine’s advice: “Don’t be stupid. They’re going to get you.” More than 90% of federal defendants plead guilty; the vast majority who go to trial are convicted; four of five convicted defendants serve jail time. It’s better to make a deal.

Upchurch is awaiting his sentencing next month for his guilty plea.

Obama Says August 31, 2010 Is The End Of Troops In Iraq

Barack Obama has spoken. The combat mission in Iraq is set to finish on August 31, 2010. Speaking at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina Obama detailed the withdraw plans that will take three months longer than his campaign promises.
Obama’s speech today drew some criticism from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as CNN reports:

“As President Obama’s Iraq policy is implemented, the remaining missions given to our remaining forces must be clearly defined and narrowly focused so that the number of troops needed to perform them is as small as possible,” Pelosi said in a press release. “The president’s decision means that the time has come at last for Iraq’s own security forces to have the prime responsibility for Iraq’s security.”

Obama says that s residual force between 35,000 to 50,000 strong will remain in Iraq after August 31, 2010. That number is upsetting many Democrats. On the other hand the plan is drawing praise from the Republican side. Over the next 18 months 92,000 to 107,000 of the troops will be heading home.

Troops will slowly be returning from now until this December. In December the national elections in Iraq will take place and the troops will be needed for extra security. After the elections the troops return home will pick up speed. Those left behind will be working on training and supporting Iraqi forces, protecting U.S. diplomats and other civilians, and conducting counter-terrorism operations.

The US troops have to be out of Iraq by December 31, 2011 under an agreement made by former President Bush. There are 142,000 troops in Iraq at this time.

Fox News reports:

“When they talk about 50,000, that’s a little higher number than I had anticipated,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said before a briefing at the White House on Thursday. Other top Democrats who expressed concern about the troop levels were House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Charles Schumer, Sen. Patty Murray and Sen. Russell Feingold.

Most of the concerns being expressed in Washington have to do with the high number of troops that will be remaining in Iraq. Both parties have spoken out on that issue.

John McHugh( New York-R) later said that Obama will revisit the withdraw if conditions in Iraq deteriorate.

“The president’s objective to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq is one we should pray for, plan for and work toward,” McHugh said in a statement.

“However, I remain concerned that the security situation in Iraq is fragile, and we should work to mitigate any risks to our troops and their mission. I specifically raised these points with the president this evening.”

Surprisingly John McCain offered praise on Obama’s plan for troop withdraw. During the presidential campaign McCain and Obama often differed on their plans on what to do in Iraq.

“We are finally on a path to success” in Iraq, McCain said. “Let us have no crisis of confidence now.”

Also joining in on the praise is House Minority Whip Eric Cantor as MSNBC reports:

“President Obama deserves credit for not listening to the chorus of voices calling for a rapid draw down of forces regardless of the consequences for Iraq, our military and the American people,” Cantor said.

The withdraw of troops will not loosen the financial load on the United States for some time. Military needs in Iraq and Afghanistan will cost the US $130 billion for the next fiscal year.

Opinion: Are The Gosselin’s Courting Problems By Exploiting Their Kids?

In the world of reality television big families equal huge ratings. Do those ratings short change the youngest money makers on the screen? A few are saying that the Gosselin parents are guilty of that.
Back before the days of reality TV big families were an easy way for a TV show to get ratings. The Brady Bunch, Eight is Enough and 7th Heaven all focused on large families and were all hit TV shows. It showed producers that America likes their families super-sized.

The most popular show on TLC is Jon & Kate Plus 8 with 1.6 million viewers. On May 10, 2004 within 6 minutes their family of four increased to a family of 12. Within weeks the family was getting the swag that only celebs are used to.

The first swag gift? A remodeled home by Home Delivery.

After a one-hour special in September 2005 the family got their own series in April 2007. The ratings skyrocketed as viewers tuned in to see a ‘normal’ family coping with so many kids.

Today the Gosselins are everywhere; Oprah, Good Morning America, In Touch Weekly and People. The public can’t get enough of the bickering parents and cute little tykes.

The family gets tons of free stuff that comes with a hidden price. Nielsen ranks the series eighth out of 149 cable shows for product placement.

The New York Times reports:

“Every day is painfully the same, yet vastly different,” Ms. Gosselin says in the show’s interview segment. Ms. Gosselin is a confident and remarkably open former nurse who seems not terribly bothered by the vitriol expressed toward her in the blogosphere, where she is frequently vilified as a publicity-hungry control freak.

The success for Jon & Kate is in part because they are normal unlike the Duggars of “17 & Counting.” The Duggars come off as too good to be true while the Gosselin crew seems hard core average. Mom Kate can be a nag, dad Jon can be thoughtless and the kids can be brats.

Those brats are a gold mine. They have enabled Mom and Dad to get out of town more often for speaking engagements. Talking is one way to make more bucks in a huge way. At three thousand a pop and first class travel those trips are more like a vacation.

Now comes the backlash. Some are questioning though if the lure of free swag and bigger houses has changed the family.

One of those who is coming forward with negative words is “Aunt Jodi.” Jodi is married to Kate’s brother Kevin and was a frequent guest on the show. Aunt Jodi babysat the kids a lot. When she disappeared from the air questions were raised. Last June, Jodie’s sister Julie set the record straight on her blog that TLC had finally decided to compensate Jodi for appearing on the show, at which point, she says, Kate lost it, insisting that only she and Jon be paid. The TLC camp are saying that this is not accurate.

Another is Jon’s former boss. The couple on the show say that Jon was fired because the company didn’t want to insure him. David Rothermel says not so fast. Rothermel is a friend of Jon’s parents and that former boss. He claims before the babies had popped out of mommy Jon was on the phone wheeling and dealing on the company dime. The state unemployment agency ruled that Jon improperly did a side job while he was on company time.

Of the naysayers Kate Gosselin says on the family’s blog:

Quite honestly, we don’t pay attention. First of all, we don’t have time to worry about what people are saying and second of all, we know that our show is benefiting so many people that we need to continue. Any flack we receive is just typical stuff that anyone on TV on a regular basis receives. Furthermore, although this is the absolute hardest job (aside from raising 8 kids, that is) that Jon and I have ever had, it is also the most amazing blessing that we can be home with our children while working and when asked, all 8 of our children agree…for now, we need to continue on…and so we will!

There are ethical questions on the amount of time the children spend in front of cameras and their lack of privacy.

There’s no doubt that the family has greatly benefited from being on television. They recently moved into a huge house and have had more vacations than most Americans. Mommy had a tummy tuck and daddy has new hair. Basically the kids are supporting the family’s rich lifestyle.

Canada’s own Dionne quints had this advice for the parents of multiples in the late 1990’s as The Vancouver Sun reports:

“Multiple births should not be confused with entertainment, nor should they be an opportunity to sell products,” they wrote. “We were displayed as a curiosity three times a day for millions of tourists. . . We sincerely hope a lesson will be learned from examining how our lives were forever altered by our childhood experience. If this letter changes the course of events for these newborns, then perhaps our lives will have served a higher purpose.”

In the end the future will finish this story. Will the ten Gosselin children make it through the television maze unscathed?
Will they look back at their childhood remembering all the special times they were granted or wish they could have been alone in a room?

As the Philadelphia Magazine reports:

“As their friend, as somebody who loves the kids, I was always the one saying [to Jon and Kate], ‘Okay, be careful.’ Because they’re not just a commodity, they’re people,” says one of the kids’ former babysitters. “And someday will come and … you know? Nothing comes free. Everything, everything, has a price. And because I love them, I don’t want them to pay a price that’s too dear.”