MILK+BOOKIESTM is a non-profit organization that teaches young children how great it feels to give back while celebrating the love of a good book.
Visit them today@ http://www.milkandbookies.org/
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
MILK + BOOKIES! Check them out today!
MILK+BOOKIESTM is a non-profit organization that teaches young children how great it feels to give back while celebrating the love of a good book.
Visit them today@ http://www.milkandbookies.org/
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Post-Sex Blues Plague Some Young Women!
(LiveScience.com) For some young women, sex leaves no afterglow, new research suggests.
In a small study, one out of three young women experienced postcoital blues at some point in their lives and 10 percent said they frequently or almost always felt sad after sex. The study involved more than 200 young Australian women, so more research would be needed to see if the results are the same in other age groups and locales.
"Under normal circumstances, the resolution phase of sexual activity, or period just after sex, elicits sensations of well-being, along with psychological and physical relaxation," study author Robert Schweitzer of the Queensland Institute of Technology said in a statement. "However, individuals who experience postcoital dysphoria [sadness] may express their immediate feelings after sexual intercourse in terms of melancholy, tearfulness, anxiety, irritability or feeling of restlessness."
Schweitzer said the cause of these feelings is unknown. One woman surveyed said that she feels "melancholy" after sex, but said those feelings are disconnected from her feelings of love and affection for her partner. [Naked Truth: Why Women Shrug off Lousy Sex]
Prior sexual abuse can cause feelings of shame, guilt and loss in later sexual encounters, Schweitzer said. However, his research, published in the quarterly International Journal of Sexual Health, found only a moderate correlation between prior sexual abuse and later post-sex letdown, he said.
"This suggests other factors, such as biological predisposition, may be more important," Schweitzer said.
The next step, Schweitzer said, is to look at women's emotional characteristics and how they view themselves to see if personality contributes to bedroom blues.
*WOW! Why in the world did they have to take it there, about women feeling sad after sexual intercourse? Look; the real deal is that; when most women feel sad after sex, it's because they were totally unsatisfied with the act. Also, that they didn't hit that eurphoric feeling that you get when having an orgasm. At the the end of the day that's what it is; they didn't need a study to figure that one out.*
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In a small study, one out of three young women experienced postcoital blues at some point in their lives and 10 percent said they frequently or almost always felt sad after sex. The study involved more than 200 young Australian women, so more research would be needed to see if the results are the same in other age groups and locales.
"Under normal circumstances, the resolution phase of sexual activity, or period just after sex, elicits sensations of well-being, along with psychological and physical relaxation," study author Robert Schweitzer of the Queensland Institute of Technology said in a statement. "However, individuals who experience postcoital dysphoria [sadness] may express their immediate feelings after sexual intercourse in terms of melancholy, tearfulness, anxiety, irritability or feeling of restlessness."
Schweitzer said the cause of these feelings is unknown. One woman surveyed said that she feels "melancholy" after sex, but said those feelings are disconnected from her feelings of love and affection for her partner. [Naked Truth: Why Women Shrug off Lousy Sex]
Prior sexual abuse can cause feelings of shame, guilt and loss in later sexual encounters, Schweitzer said. However, his research, published in the quarterly International Journal of Sexual Health, found only a moderate correlation between prior sexual abuse and later post-sex letdown, he said.
"This suggests other factors, such as biological predisposition, may be more important," Schweitzer said.
The next step, Schweitzer said, is to look at women's emotional characteristics and how they view themselves to see if personality contributes to bedroom blues.
*WOW! Why in the world did they have to take it there, about women feeling sad after sexual intercourse? Look; the real deal is that; when most women feel sad after sex, it's because they were totally unsatisfied with the act. Also, that they didn't hit that eurphoric feeling that you get when having an orgasm. At the the end of the day that's what it is; they didn't need a study to figure that one out.*
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011
OCEAN CITY: Bret Michaels announced as Sunfest '11 headliner!
(Daily Times Ocean City) Bret MIchaels rocked his way across the Billboard charts as part of the band Poison, glam metal's biggest act in the '80s and '90s. Come September, Ocean City officials said today, he'll bring his musical tour to Sunfest as this year's headlining performer.
Tickets will go on sale Friday, April 1 for Michaels's Saturday, Sept. 24 show, and for country star Jamey Johnson, who takes the stage Friday, Sept. 23.
Tickets also will go on sale for Linwood Peel’s Tribute to the Drifters, Cornell Gunter’s Coasters and the Del Vikings, who will headline Thursday, Sept. 22.
As front man for Poison, Michaels has sold 25 million records and scored 15 chartbusting Top 40 singles including "Something to Believe In," "Nothing But a Good Time" and the every-DJ's-gotta-have-it "Every Rose Has its Thorn." Tickets range from $25 to $55.
Tickets for Johnson's show will cost $20 to $40; tickets for the Thursday performances will cost $10 to $25.
Tickets for all three shows will be sold at the Ocean City Convention Center Box Office on 40th St. in Ocean City beginning at 10 a.m. Friday. Box office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Tickets are also available at http://www.ticketmaster.com/ or by calling 800-551-7328.
Admission to Sunfest itself, the four-day seasonal event at the Ocean City Inlet, is free. For more information about Sunfest, visit http://www.ococean.com/.
*This is very interesting, as I am from the eastern of MD. It's about time Ocean City did bring in some phenomenal acts for SunFest. All in all Bret Michaels will rock the house!*
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Tickets will go on sale Friday, April 1 for Michaels's Saturday, Sept. 24 show, and for country star Jamey Johnson, who takes the stage Friday, Sept. 23.
Tickets also will go on sale for Linwood Peel’s Tribute to the Drifters, Cornell Gunter’s Coasters and the Del Vikings, who will headline Thursday, Sept. 22.
As front man for Poison, Michaels has sold 25 million records and scored 15 chartbusting Top 40 singles including "Something to Believe In," "Nothing But a Good Time" and the every-DJ's-gotta-have-it "Every Rose Has its Thorn." Tickets range from $25 to $55.
Tickets for Johnson's show will cost $20 to $40; tickets for the Thursday performances will cost $10 to $25.
Tickets for all three shows will be sold at the Ocean City Convention Center Box Office on 40th St. in Ocean City beginning at 10 a.m. Friday. Box office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Tickets are also available at http://www.ticketmaster.com/ or by calling 800-551-7328.
Admission to Sunfest itself, the four-day seasonal event at the Ocean City Inlet, is free. For more information about Sunfest, visit http://www.ococean.com/.
*This is very interesting, as I am from the eastern of MD. It's about time Ocean City did bring in some phenomenal acts for SunFest. All in all Bret Michaels will rock the house!*
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Sunday, March 27, 2011
NEW eBOOK: "BEWARE OF MY BITCHITUDE."
There's a new book coming your way and it's all about bitches and their attitude. I'm not surprised something like this was coming out; but hey it could be good for the people who need to recognize certain bitches in their lives.
The book is by an author "C.J. Calett" who is new on the lit scene.
It's a small book that packs alot of punch and really tells you about bitches and their bitchitude.
Look out for this book coming out soon on amazon's kindle.
I don't know about you, but I'm dying to read about bitches so I can beware of the bitchitude!
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The book is by an author "C.J. Calett" who is new on the lit scene.
It's a small book that packs alot of punch and really tells you about bitches and their bitchitude.
Look out for this book coming out soon on amazon's kindle.
I don't know about you, but I'm dying to read about bitches so I can beware of the bitchitude!
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Last episode of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' is May 25!
(AP) The final original episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will air May 25. Winfrey's Chicago-based Harpo Productions confirmed the date Friday. Winfrey announced live on the show in November 2009 that she would end its run after 25 years. She since has launched cable's Oprah Winfrey Network.
"The Oprah Winfrey Show" has been in reruns for the last few weeks. But Winfrey tweeted Thursday that she was "hard at work planning the final shows" and new episodes would begin April 7.
The final episode brings an end to what has been television's top-rated talk show for more than two decades.
It airs in 145 countries worldwide.
*WOW! Oprah is really leaving! It doesn't seem like it's suppose to be that way. However, she's moving on to way bigger and way better things such as with her network (OWN). We will definitely miss her a lot! This lady has truly done phenomenal things and will continue to do so. WE LOVE YOU OPRAH!
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"The Oprah Winfrey Show" has been in reruns for the last few weeks. But Winfrey tweeted Thursday that she was "hard at work planning the final shows" and new episodes would begin April 7.
The final episode brings an end to what has been television's top-rated talk show for more than two decades.
It airs in 145 countries worldwide.
*WOW! Oprah is really leaving! It doesn't seem like it's suppose to be that way. However, she's moving on to way bigger and way better things such as with her network (OWN). We will definitely miss her a lot! This lady has truly done phenomenal things and will continue to do so. WE LOVE YOU OPRAH!
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Study Highlights How Moms' Depression, Anger Stresses Kids!
(HealthDay News) -- Even very young children can get stressed by depressed parents who display negative emotions toward them, researchers confirm.
The new study included 3-year-old children who were subjected to different harmless, but stress-inducing, situations, such as causing them to become slightly nervous or frustrated. After each stressful event, saliva samples were taken from the children to measure levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
The researchers also observed the interaction between children and their parents -- usually the mother -- as they did a task together or as the parent read a book to the child.
The largest stress responses were seen in children whose mothers had been depressed at some point in the child's life and whose mothers also displayed hostility -- frustration, anger, annoyance or critical comments -- when playing with their children.
There weren't enough fathers in the study to offer a sense of how they interact with children, and depression was less common among fathers, said Lea Dougherty, of the University of Maryland, and colleagues at Stony Brook University.
Stress is a risk factor for depression. These findings suggest one way that a parent's depression can lead to depression in a child, the study authors explained.
The report is slated for publication in an upcoming print issue of the journal Psychological Science.
The findings are "actually quite hopeful, because, if we focus on the parenting, we could really intervene early and help parents with chronic depression when they have kids," Dougherty said in a news release from the Association for Psychological Science.
More information
The Nemours Foundation has more about childhood stress.
*This is very interesting as more and more women become single mothers. Being a single parent in these times isn't a joke, it's serious, especially if the mother has more than one child. As times progress, and less and less fathers stick around, you will see more mother's depressed, stressed and filled with frustration. Parenting in this society seems to get a bad rap, especially if your single. It's like people think your incapable or just don't know what the hell your doing.
I say; most single mothers do what they need to do, even if they do get a little frustrated. At least they aren't like the dead beat dads that just get up and go and never return.
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*Join The Conversation*
The new study included 3-year-old children who were subjected to different harmless, but stress-inducing, situations, such as causing them to become slightly nervous or frustrated. After each stressful event, saliva samples were taken from the children to measure levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
The researchers also observed the interaction between children and their parents -- usually the mother -- as they did a task together or as the parent read a book to the child.
The largest stress responses were seen in children whose mothers had been depressed at some point in the child's life and whose mothers also displayed hostility -- frustration, anger, annoyance or critical comments -- when playing with their children.
There weren't enough fathers in the study to offer a sense of how they interact with children, and depression was less common among fathers, said Lea Dougherty, of the University of Maryland, and colleagues at Stony Brook University.
Stress is a risk factor for depression. These findings suggest one way that a parent's depression can lead to depression in a child, the study authors explained.
The report is slated for publication in an upcoming print issue of the journal Psychological Science.
The findings are "actually quite hopeful, because, if we focus on the parenting, we could really intervene early and help parents with chronic depression when they have kids," Dougherty said in a news release from the Association for Psychological Science.
More information
The Nemours Foundation has more about childhood stress.
*This is very interesting as more and more women become single mothers. Being a single parent in these times isn't a joke, it's serious, especially if the mother has more than one child. As times progress, and less and less fathers stick around, you will see more mother's depressed, stressed and filled with frustration. Parenting in this society seems to get a bad rap, especially if your single. It's like people think your incapable or just don't know what the hell your doing.
I say; most single mothers do what they need to do, even if they do get a little frustrated. At least they aren't like the dead beat dads that just get up and go and never return.
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*Join The Conversation*
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Ja Rule admits he failed to pay taxes, may get more jail time!
(OTRC) Ja Rule admitted on Tuesday, March 22, that he failed to pay taxes on more than $3 million in income and could face more jail time.
The rapper and actor, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, is already set to begin a two-year prison sentence in early June after pleading guilty to attempted criminal criminal possession of a weapon.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 13 on three tax evasion charges and faces up to one year in prison and $100,000 in fines on each count, according to the Associated Press, which carried the report.
"S/o to the Feds very cooperative it's not tax evasion it's failure to file and I'm taking care of it case closed #WINNING lol..." Ja Rule said on his Twitter page, referencing a catchphrase recently made popular by Charlie Sheen.
Ja Rule earned the money between 2004 and 2006, the AP said, adding that if plea conditions are met, the government will dismiss two counts against him for unpaid taxes on $1 million he earned in 2007 and 2008.
Ja Ruler pleaded guilty at a New York court in December to attempted criminal criminal possession of a weapon. Police had said they found a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun in his Maybach sports car in July 2007 following a concert in the city with Lil Wayne, who was detained separately.
In November, Lil Wayne completed an 8-month prison sentence after reaching a plea deal regarding the same case.
Ja Rule is known for songs such as "I'm Real" with Jennifer Lopez and his 2001 album "Pain is Love" was nominated for a Grammy Award. He has also has appeared in films such as "The Fast and the Furious" in 2001 and "Scary Movie 3" in 2003.
*WOW! This crazy and insane rapper thinks he's winning, but yet he failed to pay his taxes. How ridiculous is that! I don't understand why some people think that they can make millions and not pay their taxes and get away with it. That smells like "GREED" to me. It's no wonder most of society think rappers aren't serious business people about their business. If he he can't even pay his taxes then maybe he does need to go to jail. At the end of the day, just because you're famous and make millions doesn't mean you are exempt from uncle sam. "GET IT TOGETHER JA RULE."
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The rapper and actor, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, is already set to begin a two-year prison sentence in early June after pleading guilty to attempted criminal criminal possession of a weapon.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 13 on three tax evasion charges and faces up to one year in prison and $100,000 in fines on each count, according to the Associated Press, which carried the report.
"S/o to the Feds very cooperative it's not tax evasion it's failure to file and I'm taking care of it case closed #WINNING lol..." Ja Rule said on his Twitter page, referencing a catchphrase recently made popular by Charlie Sheen.
Ja Rule earned the money between 2004 and 2006, the AP said, adding that if plea conditions are met, the government will dismiss two counts against him for unpaid taxes on $1 million he earned in 2007 and 2008.
Ja Ruler pleaded guilty at a New York court in December to attempted criminal criminal possession of a weapon. Police had said they found a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun in his Maybach sports car in July 2007 following a concert in the city with Lil Wayne, who was detained separately.
In November, Lil Wayne completed an 8-month prison sentence after reaching a plea deal regarding the same case.
Ja Rule is known for songs such as "I'm Real" with Jennifer Lopez and his 2001 album "Pain is Love" was nominated for a Grammy Award. He has also has appeared in films such as "The Fast and the Furious" in 2001 and "Scary Movie 3" in 2003.
*WOW! This crazy and insane rapper thinks he's winning, but yet he failed to pay his taxes. How ridiculous is that! I don't understand why some people think that they can make millions and not pay their taxes and get away with it. That smells like "GREED" to me. It's no wonder most of society think rappers aren't serious business people about their business. If he he can't even pay his taxes then maybe he does need to go to jail. At the end of the day, just because you're famous and make millions doesn't mean you are exempt from uncle sam. "GET IT TOGETHER JA RULE."
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Tuesday, March 22, 2011
How to Make $1 Million Before You Graduate!
(Forbes) These entrepreneurs, interviewed by Forbes over the last three years, started launching businesses by the tender age of 9. Some of them identified problems and created companies to solve them, while others turned their hobbies into money-making ventures. Some teamed up with friends, parents and mentors; others plowed ahead on their own. To qualify for this round-up, the kids had to have cracked $1 million in revenue before college graduation and by age 22 (or be on track to do so), or had to have received funding that valued their operations at $1 million or more.
Autocricket
In the summer of 2008, after his high school graduation, Jason Brian started working in the marketing department of a South Florida car dealership. He knew the future of marketing was on the Web. "With half of the money, I found that I could double the results," by buying online ads and using search engine optimization techniques, he recalls. Three years later, at age 21, Brian spent "less than $10,000" of his savings to build a website that would help consumers look for cars. Autocricket.com made money by selling customers' information to dealers and manufacturers, which could market to customers directly. Six months after launch the site attracted the attention of two entrepreneurs in Naples, Fla., who invested $250,000. The site generated $1.2 million in revenue in 2009, when Brian was 22. In 2010 it did $6 million.
Showclix
In 2005, when he was 18, Joshua Dziabiak sold his first company--a Web hosting firm called Mediacatch--for north of $1 million. He bought a Mercedes (in cash) and a flat-screen TV, and used the rest to invest in other companies, including Showclix, his current venture, a website that lets performing arts centers, colleges, live music venues and other outlets sell tickets online, over the phone and at their box offices. In 2009 he raised nearly $1 million, which valued the company at $2.75 million. Showclix collects services fees (usually paid by the ticket buyer) of 7% to 15% of ticket sales. Those fees brought in $9 million last year.
Metrolyrics.com
In 2002, when Milun Tesovic was 16, he started a music website as a hobby, compiling lyrics to his favorite songs. Two years later he decided to turn it into a company. Today Metrolyrics.com has a database of lyrics of 2 million songs; it licenses some of them, and others users post on the site for free. The company, now with 20 employees, makes money selling ads, and hit $1 million in revenue in 2007, when Tesovic was 21. Tesovic juggles work with classes at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, where he is a business major. "For me education isn't helping me find a career," he says. "It's more about growing myself."
Solben
Twenty-year-old Daniel Gómez Iñiguez launched Solben, a company that designs and manufactures a press that extracts oil from plants to produce diesel fuel. Iñiguez began his R&D in high school. He sold to his first client for $150,000--$75,000 up front to help build the product, followed by $75,000 upon delivery. The Monterrey, Mexico, company brought in "a little over $1 million" in revenue during its first year of business. Today it employs 15 full-time staff; Iñiguez is entering his junior year of college.
Glasses Direct
When 21-year-old university student Jamie Murray Wells attempted to buy a pair of prescription eyeglasses in 2004, he had a vision for a new type of business. Nonplussed by the $300 price tag, Wells decided to leave school and funnel his $2,000 student loan into what would become Glasses Direct, a London-based online retailer. In the first year the company's revenue topped $2 million.
Note: At the time of this writing, in 2010, the company pulled in $5 million in annual revenue, employed 70 people and had raked in $34 million in venture funding.
SuperJam
In 2002, at the age of 14, Fraser Doherty started making jams in his parents' kitchen in Edinburgh, Scotland. By age 16 Doherty left school to work on his jams full time. SuperJam's revenue hit $1.2 million in 2009.
Note: At the time of this writing, in 2010, Doherty remained the company's only full-time employee. Based on a reasonable valuation multiple of one time revenue (jelly maker J.M. Smucker traded between 1 and 1.5 times revenue), Doherty's debt-free stake was worth between $1 million and $2 million.
Mydesktop.com
In 1996 Michael Furdyk, then 16, started MyDesktop.com, an online computer magazine, in the basement of his parents' home in suburban Toronto. His site was filled with tips and advice Furdyk gleaned in online chat rooms, where he came across fellow teenager Michael Hayman. Hayman, an Australian, moved to Toronto to help build the business. Running lean, the pair bartered for website storage space and office rent. Soon MyDesktop.com was bringing in $60,000 a month in ad revenue from blue-chip clients like Microsoft.
Note: In 1999 Furdyk, Hayman and a third partner sold the site to Internet.com for "over $1 million," Furdyk told Forbes in 2010.
*These are very interesting stories of people who decided to pursue their goals and become very successful. It's important to note, that in order to make your goals happen; hard work is key. Nothing comes easy and nothing is free. All in all, if you work hard, you can definitely play hard.*
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AutocricketIn the summer of 2008, after his high school graduation, Jason Brian started working in the marketing department of a South Florida car dealership. He knew the future of marketing was on the Web. "With half of the money, I found that I could double the results," by buying online ads and using search engine optimization techniques, he recalls. Three years later, at age 21, Brian spent "less than $10,000" of his savings to build a website that would help consumers look for cars. Autocricket.com made money by selling customers' information to dealers and manufacturers, which could market to customers directly. Six months after launch the site attracted the attention of two entrepreneurs in Naples, Fla., who invested $250,000. The site generated $1.2 million in revenue in 2009, when Brian was 22. In 2010 it did $6 million.
Showclix
In 2005, when he was 18, Joshua Dziabiak sold his first company--a Web hosting firm called Mediacatch--for north of $1 million. He bought a Mercedes (in cash) and a flat-screen TV, and used the rest to invest in other companies, including Showclix, his current venture, a website that lets performing arts centers, colleges, live music venues and other outlets sell tickets online, over the phone and at their box offices. In 2009 he raised nearly $1 million, which valued the company at $2.75 million. Showclix collects services fees (usually paid by the ticket buyer) of 7% to 15% of ticket sales. Those fees brought in $9 million last year.
Metrolyrics.comIn 2002, when Milun Tesovic was 16, he started a music website as a hobby, compiling lyrics to his favorite songs. Two years later he decided to turn it into a company. Today Metrolyrics.com has a database of lyrics of 2 million songs; it licenses some of them, and others users post on the site for free. The company, now with 20 employees, makes money selling ads, and hit $1 million in revenue in 2007, when Tesovic was 21. Tesovic juggles work with classes at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, where he is a business major. "For me education isn't helping me find a career," he says. "It's more about growing myself."
SolbenTwenty-year-old Daniel Gómez Iñiguez launched Solben, a company that designs and manufactures a press that extracts oil from plants to produce diesel fuel. Iñiguez began his R&D in high school. He sold to his first client for $150,000--$75,000 up front to help build the product, followed by $75,000 upon delivery. The Monterrey, Mexico, company brought in "a little over $1 million" in revenue during its first year of business. Today it employs 15 full-time staff; Iñiguez is entering his junior year of college.
Glasses Direct
When 21-year-old university student Jamie Murray Wells attempted to buy a pair of prescription eyeglasses in 2004, he had a vision for a new type of business. Nonplussed by the $300 price tag, Wells decided to leave school and funnel his $2,000 student loan into what would become Glasses Direct, a London-based online retailer. In the first year the company's revenue topped $2 million.
Note: At the time of this writing, in 2010, the company pulled in $5 million in annual revenue, employed 70 people and had raked in $34 million in venture funding.
SuperJam
In 2002, at the age of 14, Fraser Doherty started making jams in his parents' kitchen in Edinburgh, Scotland. By age 16 Doherty left school to work on his jams full time. SuperJam's revenue hit $1.2 million in 2009.
Note: At the time of this writing, in 2010, Doherty remained the company's only full-time employee. Based on a reasonable valuation multiple of one time revenue (jelly maker J.M. Smucker traded between 1 and 1.5 times revenue), Doherty's debt-free stake was worth between $1 million and $2 million.
Mydesktop.com
In 1996 Michael Furdyk, then 16, started MyDesktop.com, an online computer magazine, in the basement of his parents' home in suburban Toronto. His site was filled with tips and advice Furdyk gleaned in online chat rooms, where he came across fellow teenager Michael Hayman. Hayman, an Australian, moved to Toronto to help build the business. Running lean, the pair bartered for website storage space and office rent. Soon MyDesktop.com was bringing in $60,000 a month in ad revenue from blue-chip clients like Microsoft.
Note: In 1999 Furdyk, Hayman and a third partner sold the site to Internet.com for "over $1 million," Furdyk told Forbes in 2010.
*These are very interesting stories of people who decided to pursue their goals and become very successful. It's important to note, that in order to make your goals happen; hard work is key. Nothing comes easy and nothing is free. All in all, if you work hard, you can definitely play hard.*
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Wyclef Jean shot in Haiti!
(AP) Rapper Wyclef Jean, who campaigned last year to become president of Haiti, was shot in the Caribbean country on Saturday, reports the Associated Press.
Jean was shot in the hand late Saturday evening in Port-au-Prince, his publicist said Sunday. The rapper was treated in the hospital and released.
“He is doing well,” spokeswoman Cindy Tanenbaum told CNN, adding that the wound was superficial.
Tanenbaum didn’t provide details on why Jean was shot.
The Haitian hip-hop singer was visiting the nation to raise support for presidential candidate Michel Martelly.
Jean, a solo artist, was born in Haiti and attempted to become leader of the country last year in the wake of the country’s devastating earthquake. In August, Jean filed papers to run in the nation’s presidential election, but was criticized by many for this decision.
Actor and political activist Sean Penn slammed Jean for seeking office.
“This is somebody who’s going to receive an enormous amount of support from the United States, and I have to say I’m very suspicious of it,” Penn said in August.
Arcade Fire’s Win Butler argued that Jean shouldn’t be eligible because the rapper hadn’t been living in
Haiti. Jean’s bid was ultimately rejected because he failed to meet the residency requirement which stipulated candidates must have lived in Haiti for five years prior to the Nov. 28 election.
*This is very interesting as Wyclef is rebounding from his failed bid for President of Haiti. It seems Wyclef is doing all he can to connect himself to Haiti. It may be possible he wants to run again; so having more of presence (putting his face in the place) strategy may be his way of saying that's he's not giving up on becoming President of Haiti in the future. In any event, him being shot isn't a good thing at all! Whoever shot him may not want him in Haiti at all.
Haiti has suffered enough due to the enormous earthquake that took place there. As the rebuilding process continues, hopefully people like Wyclef can keep the attention on Haiti and not just on themselves.*
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*Join The Conversation*
Jean was shot in the hand late Saturday evening in Port-au-Prince, his publicist said Sunday. The rapper was treated in the hospital and released.
“He is doing well,” spokeswoman Cindy Tanenbaum told CNN, adding that the wound was superficial.
Tanenbaum didn’t provide details on why Jean was shot.
The Haitian hip-hop singer was visiting the nation to raise support for presidential candidate Michel Martelly.
According to Jean’s Twitter account, he is holding up fine.
We have spoken to Wyclef, he is ok,” Jean’s management wrote on his Twitter page. “Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.”
Jean, a solo artist, was born in Haiti and attempted to become leader of the country last year in the wake of the country’s devastating earthquake. In August, Jean filed papers to run in the nation’s presidential election, but was criticized by many for this decision.
Actor and political activist Sean Penn slammed Jean for seeking office.
“This is somebody who’s going to receive an enormous amount of support from the United States, and I have to say I’m very suspicious of it,” Penn said in August.
Arcade Fire’s Win Butler argued that Jean shouldn’t be eligible because the rapper hadn’t been living in
Haiti. Jean’s bid was ultimately rejected because he failed to meet the residency requirement which stipulated candidates must have lived in Haiti for five years prior to the Nov. 28 election.
*This is very interesting as Wyclef is rebounding from his failed bid for President of Haiti. It seems Wyclef is doing all he can to connect himself to Haiti. It may be possible he wants to run again; so having more of presence (putting his face in the place) strategy may be his way of saying that's he's not giving up on becoming President of Haiti in the future. In any event, him being shot isn't a good thing at all! Whoever shot him may not want him in Haiti at all.
Haiti has suffered enough due to the enormous earthquake that took place there. As the rebuilding process continues, hopefully people like Wyclef can keep the attention on Haiti and not just on themselves.*
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Is Reality TV Hurting Our Kids?
(Parents.com) We all watched as that duct-tape enforced balloon drifted higher and higher, and now we all shake our heads with disapproval as more facts come out about the Heene parents, who had appeared with their kids on “Wife Swap” and were hoping to score another reality-show breakthrough. As 6-year-old Falcon Heene vomited during media interviews and then stated on CNN’s “Larry King Live” what appears to be the true crux of the ballooning story—“You guys said we did this for the show"—it became clear that his reality-show driven parents might actually be living in an alternate reality.
But there are ways you can keep your own kids from being impacted by reality television. As a psychotherapist and CEO of the Personal Growth Institute, a non-profit psychotherapy agency dedicated to helping individuals, couples, children, teens and families in Los Angeles, Dr. Foojan Zeine has some advice for how parents can keep their own children from being seduced by what they see on screen.
She says that parents need to teach kids the difference between “reality” and “entertainment,” because for today's kids the line has become so thin. Whether it’s “Jon & Kate Plus 8”/ “Kate Plus Eight” or “18 Kids and Counting,” “Nanny 911” or “SuperNanny,” “The Baby Borrowers” or “Toddlers & Tiaras,” each episode passes off these larger-than-life shows as true-to-life.
The problem that Dr. Zeine sees most frequently in her patients is a disconnect between their lives and the lives they see on television. That’s because reality shows have to have some kind of plot or excitement if they want to stay on the air, so the kids who star in them have to act up and practically become a caricature of themselves to make for interesting TV.
The kids who are at home viewing naturally compare the shows to their own lives, and often conclude that their day-to-day existence is pretty darn boring. They don’t see kids on TV having any downtime, so when they, themselves have free time they’re not even sure of what to do with it.
“It’s a lot of stress for the kids on TV, but also it’s a lot of stress for the people who are watching. Why? Because they also think, ‘My life is boring, and I’ve got to constantly come up with something else,’” says Dr. Zeine.
She says that one way to solve that problem is for parents to sit down and watch the reality show with their child. That way, they can discuss the ways that kids behave and what’s acceptable or not acceptable about what they’re seeing, along with what’s real and what’s likely staged for the purpose of plot. This kind of open communication not only helps kids better understand the line between real and entertainment, it can also help strengthen your own family relationship.
“You open a dialogue with your children and then do your own parenting piece at that moment. So you can take the reality show and make it into an educational piece for yourself."
It’s an easy enough solution for those of us on this side of the plasma screen, but what about the kids who are actually in the shows? Hopefully their parents have a decent therapist lined up. Because the children who have roles on the TV shows are in need of a reality check, says Dr. Zeine. Whereas child actors have always been likely candidates for the next “E! True Hollywood Story,” she says that because of excess stress and unrealistic expectations, child reality show stars could actually be in for an even more difficult future.
“I think it’s worse for the reality show group because they don’t have to have any skills,” she says. “They get it that they don’t have to do anything, they just need to be on TV and be sensational. They have to exaggerate. They have to do something silly or weird just to get attention. So I think it’s almost like the difference of gambling and learning a skill to get better at.”
In the case of the Heene family, that gambling didn’t exactly lead to a jackpot. For the sake of Falcon and his brothers, let’s hope that they’ve been grounded by the experience, in more ways than one.
*Reality TV is an eye sore anyway you look at it. It's not real and does nothing to educate the population. In order to get high ratings, there must be huge dramatics, fighting, girls showing their ass and tits and a whirl-wind of antics. Someone please tell me if that's educational?
More than anything these days, parents are trying to escape their own reality of worry and tragedy. So, what you have these days are parents engaged in reality TV and many on reality TV.
They keep forgetting that kids watch more TV than they should and more are watching reality TV shows. The parents who don't care about reality TV, but let their kids engage in it, have to get on their parenting duties and turn the channel or turn it off completely and send their little asses outside or have them do something educational.
Keeping it real, we really can't say that reality TV is hurting our kids. It's the parents that let them watch it over and over on their watch. Heck; most parents watch it with their kids and they seem to think it's ok. At the end of the day, reality TV is not reality TV. Parents are the reality and that should be practiced daily so that kids don't get the wrong idea.
Diva's Nation
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But there are ways you can keep your own kids from being impacted by reality television. As a psychotherapist and CEO of the Personal Growth Institute, a non-profit psychotherapy agency dedicated to helping individuals, couples, children, teens and families in Los Angeles, Dr. Foojan Zeine has some advice for how parents can keep their own children from being seduced by what they see on screen.
She says that parents need to teach kids the difference between “reality” and “entertainment,” because for today's kids the line has become so thin. Whether it’s “Jon & Kate Plus 8”/ “Kate Plus Eight” or “18 Kids and Counting,” “Nanny 911” or “SuperNanny,” “The Baby Borrowers” or “Toddlers & Tiaras,” each episode passes off these larger-than-life shows as true-to-life.
The problem that Dr. Zeine sees most frequently in her patients is a disconnect between their lives and the lives they see on television. That’s because reality shows have to have some kind of plot or excitement if they want to stay on the air, so the kids who star in them have to act up and practically become a caricature of themselves to make for interesting TV.
The kids who are at home viewing naturally compare the shows to their own lives, and often conclude that their day-to-day existence is pretty darn boring. They don’t see kids on TV having any downtime, so when they, themselves have free time they’re not even sure of what to do with it.
“It’s a lot of stress for the kids on TV, but also it’s a lot of stress for the people who are watching. Why? Because they also think, ‘My life is boring, and I’ve got to constantly come up with something else,’” says Dr. Zeine.
She says that one way to solve that problem is for parents to sit down and watch the reality show with their child. That way, they can discuss the ways that kids behave and what’s acceptable or not acceptable about what they’re seeing, along with what’s real and what’s likely staged for the purpose of plot. This kind of open communication not only helps kids better understand the line between real and entertainment, it can also help strengthen your own family relationship.
“You open a dialogue with your children and then do your own parenting piece at that moment. So you can take the reality show and make it into an educational piece for yourself."
It’s an easy enough solution for those of us on this side of the plasma screen, but what about the kids who are actually in the shows? Hopefully their parents have a decent therapist lined up. Because the children who have roles on the TV shows are in need of a reality check, says Dr. Zeine. Whereas child actors have always been likely candidates for the next “E! True Hollywood Story,” she says that because of excess stress and unrealistic expectations, child reality show stars could actually be in for an even more difficult future.
“I think it’s worse for the reality show group because they don’t have to have any skills,” she says. “They get it that they don’t have to do anything, they just need to be on TV and be sensational. They have to exaggerate. They have to do something silly or weird just to get attention. So I think it’s almost like the difference of gambling and learning a skill to get better at.”
In the case of the Heene family, that gambling didn’t exactly lead to a jackpot. For the sake of Falcon and his brothers, let’s hope that they’ve been grounded by the experience, in more ways than one.
*Reality TV is an eye sore anyway you look at it. It's not real and does nothing to educate the population. In order to get high ratings, there must be huge dramatics, fighting, girls showing their ass and tits and a whirl-wind of antics. Someone please tell me if that's educational?
More than anything these days, parents are trying to escape their own reality of worry and tragedy. So, what you have these days are parents engaged in reality TV and many on reality TV.
They keep forgetting that kids watch more TV than they should and more are watching reality TV shows. The parents who don't care about reality TV, but let their kids engage in it, have to get on their parenting duties and turn the channel or turn it off completely and send their little asses outside or have them do something educational.
Keeping it real, we really can't say that reality TV is hurting our kids. It's the parents that let them watch it over and over on their watch. Heck; most parents watch it with their kids and they seem to think it's ok. At the end of the day, reality TV is not reality TV. Parents are the reality and that should be practiced daily so that kids don't get the wrong idea.
Diva's Nation
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Friday, March 18, 2011
Higher milk prices don't help dairy farmers much!
While milk prices continue to rise and exports to Asian markets have expanded, many dairy farmers are still struggling with the aftermath of several disastrous years and hoping the federal government will do something to help stabilize the industry.
After milk prices plunged and farms began going under, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said a year and a half ago that the industry needed restructuring and his department would look at its programs to see what changes could be made to help create more stability.
A committee the U.S. Department of Agriculture formed in 2009 in response to the crisis issued its recommendations this month, but no legislation has been written yet. Agriculture officials say it's forthcoming.
That's not a lot of comfort for farmers like Jamie Bledsoe of Riverdale, who saw his income drop by $2 million in 2009 and had to sell off about 300 cows to pay his bills. Many dairy farmers used up savings and sold property they had accumulated over 15 or 20 years, he said.
Now, they're being squeezed by high corn prices and an inability to get loans to buy feed for their cows. The situation is particularly bad in California, where most dairy farmers don't grow their own hay and corn.
Nearly 250 dairies in California have gone under in the past three years, and more are expected to close this year, said Michael Marsh, chief executive of Western United Dairymen. California is the nation's No. 1 milk producer, followed by Wisconsin and Idaho.
The crisis started when milk prices that had been driven up by demand in developing nations plummeted from a high of $18 per hundred pounds in 2008 to about $12 amid the recession in 2009. Farmers began slaughtering their cows to try to cut production. At one point, an average of 50,000 cows a week were being killed in an effort to reduce the milk glut.
This year, milk is expected to average about $17 per hundred pounds. But farmers aren't doing much better than before because federal subsidies for ethanol have created a big demand for corn among biofuel producers and prices have skyrocketed, said Ray Souza, a California farmer who serves on the USDA's
Dairy Industry Advisory Committee. About a third of the U.S. corn crop now feeds car engines, not cows, and Souza said feed accounts for about half of dairy farmers' expenses.
Tom Barcellos, who runs an 800-cow dairy in Tipton, said farmers used to be able to borrow against their herds to get money to buy feed, but the value of cows has slipped, making it hard to get credit. Many dairy farmers now have barely a truckload of feed left, he said.
"It's hand to mouth," he said. "They have no feed, they have used up equity, and they have to buy a load of feed at a time to try to hang on."
Dairy farmers are usually optimistic about bouncing back, he said. "But we never expected it would take this long to recover."
The dairy industry has been working on a plan to reform the nation's dairy policy, and many of its proposals were mirrored in the federal panel's recommendations.
Most significantly, the Dairy Industry Advisory Committee recommended replacing or improving the federal government's two traditional safety nets: the price support and Milk Income Loss Contract programs.
The price support program buys surplus dairy products to try to prevent a glut, but industry experts say its prices are too low to help farmers. The MILC program pays farmers directly but it doesn't cover all their losses, and it pays only on up to 3 million pounds of milk per year. That means it's of little help to large dairies such as those in California.
Instead, the committee has recommended helping farmers with feed costs by doing away with ethanol subsidies and creating an insurance program that would pay farmers when the difference between milk and feed prices becomes too small.
It also recommended creation of a growth-management program that would provide financial penalties for farmers who don't reduce production when demand drops; increasing incentive payments for good environmental practices; adopting measures to ensure dairies have access to a stable, legal immigrant labor force; and enhancing the nutritional value of the nation's milk to boost demand.
Differences in how policies affect the large dairies in the West and smaller ones in Wisconsin and New England have made it hard for farmers to agree on reforms.
But Bill Bruins, a dairyman and president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, said he thinks farmers are focused now on "proposing a policy that benefits everyone and allows us to become players on the world market, where most growth is."
The U.S. shipped $3.7 billion of dairy products overseas last year, 63 percent more than the previous year and almost as much as the $3.8 billion worth in 2008, according to the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Moving away from the traditional price support program and selling surplus to the government, which stifles innovation, would benefit everyone, Bruins said.
*What a hot "dairy" mess! With the price of milk going up and up these days, farmers still are struggling. It's sad because farming is very important. We need farms to produce milk, food, and those basic necessities that we as people use daily. What we don't need to use our farms for, are production of ethenol. It's not a good look for farming because it doesn't say farming. There should be a program in place to help our farmers keep their heads above water, and not have to close up shop. There should be protection for them! After all they supply this nation with milk and food.
As for the price of milk, well, that's a "cat and mouse" game in itself. Everytime there's a crisis in another country America's food prices go up. I find that to be suspect totally. We have numerous people running the show and it has nothing to do with the price of oil; like they want us to continue to believe! It has to do crummy investors, big corporations, and the US government. It's all close to home and it has been going on for years. At the end of the day, blaming Egypt or the crisis in Libya isn't going to cut it! We all know what's really happening!
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
After milk prices plunged and farms began going under, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said a year and a half ago that the industry needed restructuring and his department would look at its programs to see what changes could be made to help create more stability.
A committee the U.S. Department of Agriculture formed in 2009 in response to the crisis issued its recommendations this month, but no legislation has been written yet. Agriculture officials say it's forthcoming.
That's not a lot of comfort for farmers like Jamie Bledsoe of Riverdale, who saw his income drop by $2 million in 2009 and had to sell off about 300 cows to pay his bills. Many dairy farmers used up savings and sold property they had accumulated over 15 or 20 years, he said.
Now, they're being squeezed by high corn prices and an inability to get loans to buy feed for their cows. The situation is particularly bad in California, where most dairy farmers don't grow their own hay and corn.
Nearly 250 dairies in California have gone under in the past three years, and more are expected to close this year, said Michael Marsh, chief executive of Western United Dairymen. California is the nation's No. 1 milk producer, followed by Wisconsin and Idaho.
The crisis started when milk prices that had been driven up by demand in developing nations plummeted from a high of $18 per hundred pounds in 2008 to about $12 amid the recession in 2009. Farmers began slaughtering their cows to try to cut production. At one point, an average of 50,000 cows a week were being killed in an effort to reduce the milk glut.
This year, milk is expected to average about $17 per hundred pounds. But farmers aren't doing much better than before because federal subsidies for ethanol have created a big demand for corn among biofuel producers and prices have skyrocketed, said Ray Souza, a California farmer who serves on the USDA's
Dairy Industry Advisory Committee. About a third of the U.S. corn crop now feeds car engines, not cows, and Souza said feed accounts for about half of dairy farmers' expenses.
Tom Barcellos, who runs an 800-cow dairy in Tipton, said farmers used to be able to borrow against their herds to get money to buy feed, but the value of cows has slipped, making it hard to get credit. Many dairy farmers now have barely a truckload of feed left, he said.
"It's hand to mouth," he said. "They have no feed, they have used up equity, and they have to buy a load of feed at a time to try to hang on."
Dairy farmers are usually optimistic about bouncing back, he said. "But we never expected it would take this long to recover."
The dairy industry has been working on a plan to reform the nation's dairy policy, and many of its proposals were mirrored in the federal panel's recommendations.
Most significantly, the Dairy Industry Advisory Committee recommended replacing or improving the federal government's two traditional safety nets: the price support and Milk Income Loss Contract programs.
The price support program buys surplus dairy products to try to prevent a glut, but industry experts say its prices are too low to help farmers. The MILC program pays farmers directly but it doesn't cover all their losses, and it pays only on up to 3 million pounds of milk per year. That means it's of little help to large dairies such as those in California.
Instead, the committee has recommended helping farmers with feed costs by doing away with ethanol subsidies and creating an insurance program that would pay farmers when the difference between milk and feed prices becomes too small.
It also recommended creation of a growth-management program that would provide financial penalties for farmers who don't reduce production when demand drops; increasing incentive payments for good environmental practices; adopting measures to ensure dairies have access to a stable, legal immigrant labor force; and enhancing the nutritional value of the nation's milk to boost demand.
Differences in how policies affect the large dairies in the West and smaller ones in Wisconsin and New England have made it hard for farmers to agree on reforms.
But Bill Bruins, a dairyman and president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, said he thinks farmers are focused now on "proposing a policy that benefits everyone and allows us to become players on the world market, where most growth is."
The U.S. shipped $3.7 billion of dairy products overseas last year, 63 percent more than the previous year and almost as much as the $3.8 billion worth in 2008, according to the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Moving away from the traditional price support program and selling surplus to the government, which stifles innovation, would benefit everyone, Bruins said.
*What a hot "dairy" mess! With the price of milk going up and up these days, farmers still are struggling. It's sad because farming is very important. We need farms to produce milk, food, and those basic necessities that we as people use daily. What we don't need to use our farms for, are production of ethenol. It's not a good look for farming because it doesn't say farming. There should be a program in place to help our farmers keep their heads above water, and not have to close up shop. There should be protection for them! After all they supply this nation with milk and food.
As for the price of milk, well, that's a "cat and mouse" game in itself. Everytime there's a crisis in another country America's food prices go up. I find that to be suspect totally. We have numerous people running the show and it has nothing to do with the price of oil; like they want us to continue to believe! It has to do crummy investors, big corporations, and the US government. It's all close to home and it has been going on for years. At the end of the day, blaming Egypt or the crisis in Libya isn't going to cut it! We all know what's really happening!
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Thursday, March 17, 2011
CDC: Kidney transplant spread HIV from live donor!
(AP) A New York City patient was infected with the AIDS virus through a kidney transplant from a live donor, in what health officials are calling the first confirmed U.S. case since the 1980s.
The case is considered extremely rare, but some health officials noted that there is no strict policy for when live donors should be tested for the AIDS virus before a transplant.
In reporting the New York case on Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that organ donors have sophisticated tests for HIV within a week of surgery.
In this case, the male donor was tested for HIV about 10 weeks before he donated a kidney and the results were negative. Health officials believe he was infected between that test and the 2009 surgery; he reported having unprotected sex with another man during that time.
Neither the donor nor the recipient knew they had HIV until about a year after the transplant, according to the CDC report. No other details about the donor or recipient or their relationship were released.
Health officials say both are receiving HIV treatment.
"We don't know how frequently this is happening and we need better surveillance," said Dr. Matthew Kuehnert, a CDC official who co-authored the report.
At least one similar U.S. case has been reported in the media. An Orlando woman last year filed a lawsuit, saying she was infected with HIV through a 2007 kidney transplant in Florida. However, CDC officials say they have not been asked to investigate and could not confirm the report.
Italian doctors reported a case in 1989.
Living donors are routinely screened — as are organs from deceased donors — for HIV, hepatitis and other infectious diseases. Testing for HIV began in 1985.
Kidneys from live donors are becoming increasingly common. In 1988, about 32 percent of kidney transplants came from live donors. By last year, it was more than 46 percent, according to federal data.
The report is being published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
*WOW! This will scare the mess out of people that really need a kidney! This is unbelievable! How is it that a person goes in and gets a kidney from a live donor, and yet there is no policy for when the live donor should be tested for the AIDS virus before the transplant? Shouldn't they have a strict policy for testing live donors for the AIDS virus? You would think there would be a test of this sort, due to everyday society. The way we see it, society has messed up ways of going about things such as this, and with that, certain people get the short-end of the stick due to the mess-ups of society. WOW!
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
The case is considered extremely rare, but some health officials noted that there is no strict policy for when live donors should be tested for the AIDS virus before a transplant.
In reporting the New York case on Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that organ donors have sophisticated tests for HIV within a week of surgery.
In this case, the male donor was tested for HIV about 10 weeks before he donated a kidney and the results were negative. Health officials believe he was infected between that test and the 2009 surgery; he reported having unprotected sex with another man during that time.
Neither the donor nor the recipient knew they had HIV until about a year after the transplant, according to the CDC report. No other details about the donor or recipient or their relationship were released.
Health officials say both are receiving HIV treatment.
"We don't know how frequently this is happening and we need better surveillance," said Dr. Matthew Kuehnert, a CDC official who co-authored the report.
At least one similar U.S. case has been reported in the media. An Orlando woman last year filed a lawsuit, saying she was infected with HIV through a 2007 kidney transplant in Florida. However, CDC officials say they have not been asked to investigate and could not confirm the report.
Italian doctors reported a case in 1989.
Living donors are routinely screened — as are organs from deceased donors — for HIV, hepatitis and other infectious diseases. Testing for HIV began in 1985.
Kidneys from live donors are becoming increasingly common. In 1988, about 32 percent of kidney transplants came from live donors. By last year, it was more than 46 percent, according to federal data.
The report is being published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
*WOW! This will scare the mess out of people that really need a kidney! This is unbelievable! How is it that a person goes in and gets a kidney from a live donor, and yet there is no policy for when the live donor should be tested for the AIDS virus before the transplant? Shouldn't they have a strict policy for testing live donors for the AIDS virus? You would think there would be a test of this sort, due to everyday society. The way we see it, society has messed up ways of going about things such as this, and with that, certain people get the short-end of the stick due to the mess-ups of society. WOW!
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Nate Dogg, whose hooks boosted rap hits, dies!
(AP) Singer Nate Dogg, whose near monotone crooning anchored some of rap's most seminal songs and helped define the sound of West coast hip-hop, has died at age 41.
Attorney Mark Geragos said Nate Dogg, whose real name was Nathaniel D. Hale, died Tuesday of complications from multiple strokes.
Nate Dogg wasn't a rapper, but he was an integral figure in the genre: His deep voice wasn't particularly melodic, but it's tone — at times menacing, at times playful, yet always charming — provided just the just the right touch on hits including Warren G's "Regulate," 50 Cent's "21 Questions," Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode" and countless others.
While Nate Dogg provided hooks for rappers from coast to coast, the Long Beach, Calif., native is best known for his contributions to the West Coast soundtrack provided by the likes of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, the Dogg Pound and more. Nate Dogg was even part of a "supergroup" featuring Snoop Dogg and Warren G, called 213.
Nate Dogg also put out his own solo projects but was best known for his collaborations with others.
He had suffered strokes in recent years.
*RIP Nathaniel D. Hale "aka" Nate Dogg*
Diva's Nation
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Attorney Mark Geragos said Nate Dogg, whose real name was Nathaniel D. Hale, died Tuesday of complications from multiple strokes.
Nate Dogg wasn't a rapper, but he was an integral figure in the genre: His deep voice wasn't particularly melodic, but it's tone — at times menacing, at times playful, yet always charming — provided just the just the right touch on hits including Warren G's "Regulate," 50 Cent's "21 Questions," Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode" and countless others.
While Nate Dogg provided hooks for rappers from coast to coast, the Long Beach, Calif., native is best known for his contributions to the West Coast soundtrack provided by the likes of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, the Dogg Pound and more. Nate Dogg was even part of a "supergroup" featuring Snoop Dogg and Warren G, called 213.
Nate Dogg also put out his own solo projects but was best known for his collaborations with others.
He had suffered strokes in recent years.
*RIP Nathaniel D. Hale "aka" Nate Dogg*
Diva's Nation
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Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Hollywood A-listers urge Obama to support gay marriage!
(The Ticket) Just weeks after the Obama administration announced it would no longer legally defend the Defense of Marriage act, some of the president's biggest Hollywood supporters have signed a letter urging him to go a step further and legalize same-sex marriage.
Anne Hathaway, Martin Sheen, Jane Lynch and Ellen DeGeneres are among the actors who have signed an open letter sponsored by Freedom to Marry, a New York-based advocacy group working to promote marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Citing Obama's decision on DOMA last month, the letter calls for Obama to exhibit similar leadership on same-sex marriage rights.
"Whether to end discrimination in marriage is a question America has faced before, and faces again today… It is a question that calls for clarity from the president," the letter reads. "We ask you to complete your journey and join us, and the majority of Americans, who support the freedom to marry."
The letter was also signed by NFL linebackers Scott Fujita of the Cleveland Browns and Brenden
Ayanbadejo of the Baltimore Ravens; entertainment moguls David Geffen and Bob Wright; former NAACP chairman Julian Bond; and Facebook co-founders Chris Hughes and Sean Parker. Hughes, who is openly gay, previously worked for Obama's campaign in 2008, heading up its enormously successful new-media efforts.
The letter comes as Obama prepares to launch his 2012 re-election campaign, in which he will no doubt count on entertainment types as an important source of financial and public support. But the president's relationship with Hollywood has noticeably cooled since 2008, as celebrities have openly expressed their discontent with Obama in part because of his position on same-sex marriage.
Just last month, Matt Damon railed on Obama in an interview with CNN, bluntly saying he has not done a good job as president. Meanwhile, Lynch, the openly gay star of "Glee," called Obama a "huge disappointment" for his handling of gay rights.
Obama has long said that he supports civil unions as an alternative to marriage for gays and lesbians—putting him to the right of former Vice President Dick Cheney, who has endorsed same-sex marriage. But in
December, Obama admitted his views on gay marriage are "evolving" and said he would continue "to wrestle" with the issue.
Last month, the Justice Department dropped its attempts to defend the constitutionality of DOMA in court—with Attorney General Eric Holder saying in a statement that Obama had personally concluded the law was "unconstitutional." Many gay rights supporters view that position as an opening—though it's unclear how far Obama will be willing to go ahead of what could be a tough re-election campaign.
*It's obvious that the President is very busy with what he may deem as more important things. I think (hollywooder's) have to understand that just because they are famous, doesn't mean they get first dibs on the issues they care about. Bottom line; this is an issue and many people are on edge about gay rights and gay marriage as it stands. However; (hollywooder's), should realize that the President's job consist of addressing many issues, and not just one particular issue like "gay marriage.". At the end of the day, President Obama has to pick his battle and this obviously isn't one of them at the moment. All in all, "FALL BACK HOLLYWOODER'S and let the President do his job and you worry about doing yours.*
By: Diva's Nation
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Anne Hathaway, Martin Sheen, Jane Lynch and Ellen DeGeneres are among the actors who have signed an open letter sponsored by Freedom to Marry, a New York-based advocacy group working to promote marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Citing Obama's decision on DOMA last month, the letter calls for Obama to exhibit similar leadership on same-sex marriage rights.
"Whether to end discrimination in marriage is a question America has faced before, and faces again today… It is a question that calls for clarity from the president," the letter reads. "We ask you to complete your journey and join us, and the majority of Americans, who support the freedom to marry."
The letter was also signed by NFL linebackers Scott Fujita of the Cleveland Browns and Brenden
Ayanbadejo of the Baltimore Ravens; entertainment moguls David Geffen and Bob Wright; former NAACP chairman Julian Bond; and Facebook co-founders Chris Hughes and Sean Parker. Hughes, who is openly gay, previously worked for Obama's campaign in 2008, heading up its enormously successful new-media efforts.
The letter comes as Obama prepares to launch his 2012 re-election campaign, in which he will no doubt count on entertainment types as an important source of financial and public support. But the president's relationship with Hollywood has noticeably cooled since 2008, as celebrities have openly expressed their discontent with Obama in part because of his position on same-sex marriage.
Just last month, Matt Damon railed on Obama in an interview with CNN, bluntly saying he has not done a good job as president. Meanwhile, Lynch, the openly gay star of "Glee," called Obama a "huge disappointment" for his handling of gay rights.
Obama has long said that he supports civil unions as an alternative to marriage for gays and lesbians—putting him to the right of former Vice President Dick Cheney, who has endorsed same-sex marriage. But in
December, Obama admitted his views on gay marriage are "evolving" and said he would continue "to wrestle" with the issue.
Last month, the Justice Department dropped its attempts to defend the constitutionality of DOMA in court—with Attorney General Eric Holder saying in a statement that Obama had personally concluded the law was "unconstitutional." Many gay rights supporters view that position as an opening—though it's unclear how far Obama will be willing to go ahead of what could be a tough re-election campaign.
*It's obvious that the President is very busy with what he may deem as more important things. I think (hollywooder's) have to understand that just because they are famous, doesn't mean they get first dibs on the issues they care about. Bottom line; this is an issue and many people are on edge about gay rights and gay marriage as it stands. However; (hollywooder's), should realize that the President's job consist of addressing many issues, and not just one particular issue like "gay marriage.". At the end of the day, President Obama has to pick his battle and this obviously isn't one of them at the moment. All in all, "FALL BACK HOLLYWOODER'S and let the President do his job and you worry about doing yours.*
By: Diva's Nation
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Monday, March 14, 2011
U.S. millionaires say $7 million not enough to be rich!
(Reuters) A million dollars ain't what it used to be.
More than four out of ten American millionaires say they do not feel rich. Indeed many would need to have at least $7.5 million in order to feel they were truly rich, according to a Fidelity Investments survey.
Some 42 percent of the more than 1,000 millionaires surveyed by Fidelity said they did not feel wealthy.
Respondents had at least $1 million in investable assets, excluding any real estate or retirement accounts.
"Every person in the survey is wealthy," said Sanjiv Mirchandani, president of National Financial, a unit of Fidelity. "But they are still worried about outliving their assets."
The average age of respondents was 56 years old with a mean of $3.5 million of investable assets. The threshold for "rich" rose with age.
"They compare themselves to their peer group ... and they are also thinking about the long period they will have in retirement and want more assets" to fund their lifestyle, said Michael Durbin, president of Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services.
Still, millionaires are slightly more optimistic now than they were in 2009, when 46 percent did not feel wealthy.
Respondents were also more optimistic about the U.S. economy. While they thought the current U.S. economy remained very weak, they think it will improve by the end of this year.
Fidelity noted the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans hold more than 55 percent of the nation's wealth.
*Well, well now this is really something! This article is dead on as many millionaires don't feel rich. Many are blowing through their money like water. As the economy stays in a weak state, many people are feeling the pinch. Everyday necessities are going up in price, and people are spending more to live. However, if your sitting on cash and don't have to worry about eating, then I say you are rich. You're rich in being blessed where, others are scraping their piggy banks to eat everyday. In this day and age the fact that you have money, should be a blessing instead of complaining that it's not enough.*
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More than four out of ten American millionaires say they do not feel rich. Indeed many would need to have at least $7.5 million in order to feel they were truly rich, according to a Fidelity Investments survey.
Some 42 percent of the more than 1,000 millionaires surveyed by Fidelity said they did not feel wealthy.
Respondents had at least $1 million in investable assets, excluding any real estate or retirement accounts.
"Every person in the survey is wealthy," said Sanjiv Mirchandani, president of National Financial, a unit of Fidelity. "But they are still worried about outliving their assets."
The average age of respondents was 56 years old with a mean of $3.5 million of investable assets. The threshold for "rich" rose with age.
"They compare themselves to their peer group ... and they are also thinking about the long period they will have in retirement and want more assets" to fund their lifestyle, said Michael Durbin, president of Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services.
Still, millionaires are slightly more optimistic now than they were in 2009, when 46 percent did not feel wealthy.
Respondents were also more optimistic about the U.S. economy. While they thought the current U.S. economy remained very weak, they think it will improve by the end of this year.
Fidelity noted the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans hold more than 55 percent of the nation's wealth.
*Well, well now this is really something! This article is dead on as many millionaires don't feel rich. Many are blowing through their money like water. As the economy stays in a weak state, many people are feeling the pinch. Everyday necessities are going up in price, and people are spending more to live. However, if your sitting on cash and don't have to worry about eating, then I say you are rich. You're rich in being blessed where, others are scraping their piggy banks to eat everyday. In this day and age the fact that you have money, should be a blessing instead of complaining that it's not enough.*
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Sunday, March 13, 2011
The "it" school for our next Einsteins!
(MercuryNews.com) On a typical day at Harker School in San Jose, students are pondering special relativity and mastering multivariable calculus. They're building circuits, splicing genes and, perhaps, dissecting a cat.
Walls are decorated with paintings of epithelial cells. A tall Foucault's pendulum swings from one corner, knocking down a Stephen Hawking doll. Bright blue banners, celebrating victories in science contests, hang from balconies.
But Anita Chetty's classroom is quiet. That's because she's busy planning a research symposium, featuring Sun Microsystems founder and Harker parent Scott McNealy, and she will soon be thinking about the next field trip on invasive species -- in the Galápagos Islands.
Having trouble keeping up? So is much of the rest of the country when it comes to teaching science.
Harker, a young enterprise bankrolled largely by Silicon Valley's newest immigrants, where tuition costs $35,000 a year, is the only school with two finalists at this week's final round of the coveted Intel Awards, the nation's most elite high school science competition.
And to think Harker didn't even have a high school when most of its juniors and seniors were born.
With 20 Intel semifinalists and four finalists in six years, and many other prestigious science titles already to its credit, Harker is fast becoming the "it" school for aspiring researchers, a springboard to a life of inquiry.
How do they do it?
"I don't know what the judges are looking for. I really don't," said Chetty, who chairs Harker's high school science department and helped design the school's research focus. "We are just capitalizing on everything that Silicon Valley has to offer."
Eyes on the prize
Successful students enthusiastically spread the word, then more seek to compete. This year, 80 students applied to the Intel, Siemens, Synopsis and other contests.
linebacker who dreams of the NFL, there's a Harker student who will be a first-round intellectual draft choice for Harvard or MIT, on a mission to a Nobel Prize, Fields Medal or MacArthur "genius" grant.
"It's so much fun just to constantly be learning something new every day," said Nikhil Parthasarathy, 17, an Intel finalist for his work researching irregular structures of distant galaxies. He and Rohan Mahajan are representing Harker at the competition in Washington, D.C.
If a student wins a lucrative prize, some of the money gets reinvested in the school, purchasing university-grade research equipment, from a gas chromatograph for analyzing compounds to a spectrophotometer to measure concentrations of chemicals.
"Our students know they're standing on the shoulders of others," said Chetty, a Fiji-born biologist who in 2006 won a Nobel Educator of Distinction award from the Nobel Prize family. "I tell the kids: 'The equipment you're using -- we earned it. Someone else, now at a university, won it for us.'
"It's taken 10 years to finally get here, but we now have all the pieces in place."
Magic formula
Prize-winning research is no longer the kind of undertaking that a student can do at home. Long gone are the days of iconic "October Sky" projects, where boys stood in a field and shot off rockets.
But unlike Harker, most schools don't offer advanced research programs. They may be too far away from university labs or strapped for funds. Their teachers often are too exhausted by the volume of day-to-day work to offer extra help.
Nationally, there is growing concern about the future of American innovation. "We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair," President Barack Obama said at his State of the Union address.
Harker has identified a magic formula: dedicated parents, smart students, a rigorous curriculum, creative faculty and the strong support of local universities. And considerable sums of money.
The student body is 70 percent Asian, half of that number being Indian. Harker parents are well-educated professionals, with expectations of high acheivement.
There are four advanced degrees in the families of this year's two finalists: two Ph.D.s and two master's. Both sets of parents are first-generation Indian immigrants.
"Our parents have an innate respect for teachers," Chetty said. "I might be sitting in front of a parent with four or five patents to their name, but they hold me in such high esteem.
"They understand that hard work is the key ingredient to success, and they instill that in their children," she said. "And they know sometimes you fail first. Those are the two ingredients for good scientists."
Sunday lab work
Mahajan, 17, learned about disappointment firsthand -- two weeks into his summer internship at UC Santa Cruz, where he sought ways to improve the efficiency of photoelectrochemical cells. After an initial success, his technique failed. So he had to start over and redesign his project, which involved hot furnaces and toxic gases.
"I was under real time pressure," he said. "I think it inspired me. The new one was a lot more complicated and even better than the original project. I started working a lot harder. So it ended up being a good thing."
His fellow finalist Parthasarathy got interested in astrophysics after a summer program at NASA Ames
Research Center in Mountain View. Although his original research at UC Santa Cruz was done by late summer, the writing of his Intel essays and research paper had to be squeezed into a schedule already packed with tests, tennis practice and Saturdays at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where music theory class starts at 8 a.m.
"Sundays, maybe I watch TV," he said, then laughed. "Not really."
Such research is possible because of Harker's unusual academic curriculum. Students who do well in summer school can study AP physics, chemistry or biology as mere sophomores and juniors. This frees up time for electives like organic chemistry, biotechnology, astronomy and electronics.
It even offers two classes specifically devoted to research: "Research Methods" and "Advanced Research," where they learn how to accept constructive criticism.
"Harker is really willing to make a class for anyone, especially in math," Parthasarathy said. "There are so many kids who are, like, genius kids. There is one kid in ninth grade and he's in my Differential Equations class."
Not just hard work
Students are so well prepared, said physics teacher Chris Spenner, "that I can go beyond the AP curriculum, adding subjects like special relativity. They're so advanced in math, I can do multivariable calculus. "... I've taught at other schools and never seen anything like this."
On field trips to the Galapagos, they study with native children; in Costa Rica, they build turtle pens, snorkel in nature preserves and study biodiversity.
"We try to show them that research is not just hard work -- pound, pound, pound," said biology teacher Matthew Harley, who holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Johns Hopkins.
"It's creative thinking, to be able to incorporate all these different concepts from different fields," he said. "Science is our future. Someday they'll have answers to questions we haven't even thought of yet."
The preparation begins early. Even in elementary school, special science classes are held four times a week, by teachers holding bachelor's degrees in the sciences.
By fifth grade, students are using digital microscopes. Experiments, such as altering bacteria, start in sixth grade. By seventh grade, they're offered honors classes in physics, chemistry or biology. Math is taught, not by age, but ability; advanced students simply move up to high school.
There's a middle school "Research Club," led by an engineer with help from a Ph.D. chemist. One youngster, worried about radiation in her family's new kitchen countertops, tested granite slabs with a Geiger counter.
"The questions come from their own minds," said K-8 science department chair Lorna Claerbot.
Contest fever
High school welcomes them with a gleaming new Science & Technology Center: 16 classrooms, a lecture hall, robotics lab, cyber study loft and the pendulum, which demonstrates the rotation of Earth.
Costing $25 million, the building was built with the help of $1 million gifts from parents.Contest fever starts junior year. Early on, teachers help identify interests, narrow the focus and locate supportive labs where advanced research is already under way. Some students compete for Harker-sponsored internships, which Chetty has arranged. Others must find their own. The only real coaching, teachers say, is about how to write e-mails to busy scientists.
For students working at school, nights can get late.
"I'd pick up Subway sandwiches for both of us, and bring them back," said Harley, recalling lab work until 10 p.m. with one student, now at UC Berkeley. "We kept getting kicked out by security."
Then, quickly, technical papers are written and rewritten. Charts and tables are formatted. Deadlines are met. Awaiting them at the Intel competition this week is a possible $100,000 prize, accolades and college acceptances. But all that would be just an extra thrill, they said. Already they've taken a life-altering step that will carry them into their adult lives.
"What's fun is the fact that no one's ever answered these problems before. No one knows the answer," Parthasarathy said.
"If you can add value, it is an incredible feeling."
*Can you say "AMEN" and do a "ONE TWO STEP" for a school that's making the headlines for doing great things! This school is a prime example of how students are mastering and being very creative. It' something you don't hear about everyday. Harker School is doing big things and definitely helping students acheive in every way they can. They are providing the students with the tools to take their education to whole new level. That is priceless! With all of that being said, we do understand that it cost money to attend, and that this school gets grant money and all the bells and whistles. What they are doing, they need to keep it up as other schools around the nation can take heed to what this school's formula is, and possibly apply it to see if it can work for them. At the end of the day, we as parents, teachers, politicians, community members and others have to get on the grind and try to inspire, motivate and bring up our failing schools. It's not an option, it's a must, especially when schools like "Harker" is thriving.*
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Saturday, March 12, 2011
Obama keeps focus on fight for women's equality!
(AP) Father of two girls, President Barack Obama says he wants to improve the status of women in the United States.
Women are more likely than men to graduate from college today, yet earn less on average, face a greater chance of living in poverty and are outnumbered in critical subjects such as math and science, he said in his weekly radio and online address Saturday.
"Achieving equality and opportunity for women isn't just important to me as president. It's something I care about deeply as the father of two daughters who wants to see his girls grow up in a world where there are no limits to what they can achieve," he said.
Obama noted that one of his first acts as president was to sign legislation allowing women who've been discriminated against in their salaries to have their day in court. Obama said he was disappointed when the Senate blocked action on a proposal that would treat gender discrimination involving pay in the same as race, disability and age discrimination.
The Senate in November fell just short of the votes needed to overcome GOP opposition and move ahead on the bill, which would make employers prove that any disparities in wages are job-related and not sex-based.
"At a time when folks across this country are struggling to make ends meet — and many families are just trying to get by on one paycheck after a job loss — it's a reminder that achieving equal pay for equal work isn't just a women's issue," the president said in his weekly radio and online address. "It's a family issue."
He said he would not relent in fighting for the goals of that legislation. He also said women on average make about 75 cents for each dollar a man earns and are more likely to fall in poverty.
Republicans and business groups said the Paycheck Fairness Act would expose employers to more litigation by removing limits on punitive and compensatory damage awards.
*Very interesting and truly about time that someone does something about how women seem to be treated when it comes to being paid. There's more opportunity for women to make bank, but less of those top of the line "boss" roles. For years women have fought for equality in the work place and elsewhere in society. It's very sad that women are still fighting for that in these times. Hopefully with President Obama at the wheel, things can get done so that women have a fighting chance to prove their cases and make more bank, even if it's more than their male counterparts. I guess if it takes more time, then women can always continue to start their own companies and forge ahead that way instead of still fighting these egotistical men for well deserved pay.*
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Women are more likely than men to graduate from college today, yet earn less on average, face a greater chance of living in poverty and are outnumbered in critical subjects such as math and science, he said in his weekly radio and online address Saturday.
"Achieving equality and opportunity for women isn't just important to me as president. It's something I care about deeply as the father of two daughters who wants to see his girls grow up in a world where there are no limits to what they can achieve," he said.
Obama noted that one of his first acts as president was to sign legislation allowing women who've been discriminated against in their salaries to have their day in court. Obama said he was disappointed when the Senate blocked action on a proposal that would treat gender discrimination involving pay in the same as race, disability and age discrimination.
The Senate in November fell just short of the votes needed to overcome GOP opposition and move ahead on the bill, which would make employers prove that any disparities in wages are job-related and not sex-based.
"At a time when folks across this country are struggling to make ends meet — and many families are just trying to get by on one paycheck after a job loss — it's a reminder that achieving equal pay for equal work isn't just a women's issue," the president said in his weekly radio and online address. "It's a family issue."
He said he would not relent in fighting for the goals of that legislation. He also said women on average make about 75 cents for each dollar a man earns and are more likely to fall in poverty.
Republicans and business groups said the Paycheck Fairness Act would expose employers to more litigation by removing limits on punitive and compensatory damage awards.
*Very interesting and truly about time that someone does something about how women seem to be treated when it comes to being paid. There's more opportunity for women to make bank, but less of those top of the line "boss" roles. For years women have fought for equality in the work place and elsewhere in society. It's very sad that women are still fighting for that in these times. Hopefully with President Obama at the wheel, things can get done so that women have a fighting chance to prove their cases and make more bank, even if it's more than their male counterparts. I guess if it takes more time, then women can always continue to start their own companies and forge ahead that way instead of still fighting these egotistical men for well deserved pay.*
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THIS EXPLAINS ALOT! Get This Tee Today!
Head on over to: www.cafepress.com/DivasHouse and get your tee "BEWARE OF MY BITCHITUDE" today. Enjoy!
Also get the original version:
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Also get the original version:
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Friday, March 11, 2011
Singer Ne-Yo creates show for Cartoon Network!
(AP) Ne-Yo has written many hit songs — and now he's taking writing to a new level.
The Grammy winner told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that he closed a deal with Cartoon Network to produce his own show.
The cartoon is called "I Heart Tuesdays" and Ne-Yo said production starts soon.
He said the show is about "a 16-year-old girl that inherits the curse of her bloodline and she's forced to save the world from the unknown evil every Tuesday for the rest of her life."
A message seeking comment from the network was not immediately returned.
Ne-Yo said he created the show "for his sister."
The platinum-selling singer-songwriter also says he's putting together a line of hats.
Ne-Yo stars in the new film "Battle: LA," in theaters Friday. He had his first child in November. His latest CD, "Libra Scale," was also released in November.
http://www.neyothegentleman.com/
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com
http://www.battlela.com
*Very interesting and a very smart move for singer Ne-Yo. It's a good thing when you can do other things besides sing and dance. He obviously has many talents and this one is sure to solidify him as a true jack of all trades. Way to go Ne-Yo!*
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The Grammy winner told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that he closed a deal with Cartoon Network to produce his own show.
The cartoon is called "I Heart Tuesdays" and Ne-Yo said production starts soon.
He said the show is about "a 16-year-old girl that inherits the curse of her bloodline and she's forced to save the world from the unknown evil every Tuesday for the rest of her life."
A message seeking comment from the network was not immediately returned.
Ne-Yo said he created the show "for his sister."
The platinum-selling singer-songwriter also says he's putting together a line of hats.
Ne-Yo stars in the new film "Battle: LA," in theaters Friday. He had his first child in November. His latest CD, "Libra Scale," was also released in November.
http://www.neyothegentleman.com/
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com
http://www.battlela.com
*Very interesting and a very smart move for singer Ne-Yo. It's a good thing when you can do other things besides sing and dance. He obviously has many talents and this one is sure to solidify him as a true jack of all trades. Way to go Ne-Yo!*
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More evidence folic acid prevents birth defects!
(Reuters Health) – A new study finds that South Carolina's rate of spina bifida and similar birth defects fell substantially after more women began taking folic acid -- adding to evidence of the B vitamin's benefits during pregnancy.
Since 1998, the U.S. has required manufacturers to add folic acid to enriched flours, breads, cereals, pasta, corn meal and other grain products.
The move was based on research showing that folic acid during pregnancy can cut the risk of neural tube defects -- serious, sometimes fatal birth defects of the brain or spine, including spina bifida and anencephaly.
For the new study, reported in the Journal of Pediatrics, researchers looked at rates of neural tube defects in South Carolina from 1992 to 2009.
Infants born in South Carolina have historically had a higher rate of neural tube defects compared with the U.S. average. But during the study period, the rate of "isolated" neural tube defects (not accompanied by any other birth defect) fell from 1.4 for every 1,000 births and fetal deaths, to about 0.6 per 1,000.
And from 1998 to 2005, the average rate of spina bifida and anencephaly -- which account for most neural tube defects -- was 0.69 per 100,000. That was identical to the national average.
Folic acid would appear to take the credit, according to Dr. Roger E. Stevenson and colleagues at the Greenwood Genetic Center in South Carolina.
Based on interviews with South Carolina women ages 15 to 45 throughout the study period, the percent taking folic acid on a regular basis rose from 8 percent to 35 percent.
The authors did not ask women how much folic acid they took, but experts recommend that women who may become pregnant get 400 micrograms of folic acid, from multivitamins or fortified foods. That's in addition to any folate, the natural form of folic acid, found in foods such as spinach, asparagus, dried beans and peas, and orange juice.
Despite the positive findings from the current study, there is also room for improvement, according to
Stevenson's team. They point to the fact that by the end of the study period, only 35 percent of women were taking folic acid -- despite the fact that two-thirds were aware of the vitamin's benefits.
But folic acid may only do so much.
Obesity and type 2 diabetes in the mother are two other factors linked to a higher-than-average risk of neural tube defects. And in this study, increasing use of folic acid did not eliminate the risk associated with diabetes, Stevenson and his colleagues point out.
That finding, the researchers write, "calls for greater attention" to diabetes prevention in women of childbearing age. They add that studies could also look at whether higher doses of folic acid are necessary for women with diabetes.
*WOW! This is very exciting news for potential mothers. If this is right, then potential mothers need to keep this stuff in their medicine cabinet for sure.*
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Since 1998, the U.S. has required manufacturers to add folic acid to enriched flours, breads, cereals, pasta, corn meal and other grain products.
The move was based on research showing that folic acid during pregnancy can cut the risk of neural tube defects -- serious, sometimes fatal birth defects of the brain or spine, including spina bifida and anencephaly.
For the new study, reported in the Journal of Pediatrics, researchers looked at rates of neural tube defects in South Carolina from 1992 to 2009.
Infants born in South Carolina have historically had a higher rate of neural tube defects compared with the U.S. average. But during the study period, the rate of "isolated" neural tube defects (not accompanied by any other birth defect) fell from 1.4 for every 1,000 births and fetal deaths, to about 0.6 per 1,000.
And from 1998 to 2005, the average rate of spina bifida and anencephaly -- which account for most neural tube defects -- was 0.69 per 100,000. That was identical to the national average.
Folic acid would appear to take the credit, according to Dr. Roger E. Stevenson and colleagues at the Greenwood Genetic Center in South Carolina.
Based on interviews with South Carolina women ages 15 to 45 throughout the study period, the percent taking folic acid on a regular basis rose from 8 percent to 35 percent.
The authors did not ask women how much folic acid they took, but experts recommend that women who may become pregnant get 400 micrograms of folic acid, from multivitamins or fortified foods. That's in addition to any folate, the natural form of folic acid, found in foods such as spinach, asparagus, dried beans and peas, and orange juice.
Despite the positive findings from the current study, there is also room for improvement, according to
Stevenson's team. They point to the fact that by the end of the study period, only 35 percent of women were taking folic acid -- despite the fact that two-thirds were aware of the vitamin's benefits.
But folic acid may only do so much.
Obesity and type 2 diabetes in the mother are two other factors linked to a higher-than-average risk of neural tube defects. And in this study, increasing use of folic acid did not eliminate the risk associated with diabetes, Stevenson and his colleagues point out.
That finding, the researchers write, "calls for greater attention" to diabetes prevention in women of childbearing age. They add that studies could also look at whether higher doses of folic acid are necessary for women with diabetes.
*WOW! This is very exciting news for potential mothers. If this is right, then potential mothers need to keep this stuff in their medicine cabinet for sure.*
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*Join The Conversation*
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Sahara Hill Latest Book! "My Panty Drawer Dilemma: How I Started The Fabulous Panty Drawer Intervention."
Amazing, funny, and very interesting as author Sahara hill takes women's panty drawer's to a whole new level.
This book touches on friendships, relationships, and takes you inside of a woman's most intimate part; her panty drawer.
The characters in the book Sonya, Karen, Robin and Melissa are like women I know and love. They all seem real to me. I can't leave out Sonya's assistant "Antoine." He's gay and fabulous! Loved him!
This book should be made into a TV series and or movie with how it's written.
I can't wait or the second book to come and continue to read about Sonya and her quest to get rid of those horrible panty drawers. Loved it!
4 stars!
Ronnie J for Diva's Nation
This book touches on friendships, relationships, and takes you inside of a woman's most intimate part; her panty drawer.
The characters in the book Sonya, Karen, Robin and Melissa are like women I know and love. They all seem real to me. I can't leave out Sonya's assistant "Antoine." He's gay and fabulous! Loved him!
This book should be made into a TV series and or movie with how it's written.
I can't wait or the second book to come and continue to read about Sonya and her quest to get rid of those horrible panty drawers. Loved it!
4 stars!
Ronnie J for Diva's Nation
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Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Louis Vuitton's Ladylike Fetishism!
(FWD) If anyone doubts that this is the most covered up European fashion season in memory, then they should check out the latest fall 2011 collection by Louis Vuitton, where even though the theme was fetishism, there was practically no flesh on display.
French maids suggestively dusted down the stairs at the entrance to this show, staged in a courtyard in the Louvre on Wednesday, March 9, in Paris, the last day of shows of a four-city season lasting one month.
Models in suggestive uniforms with tiny plastic masks, S&M corsets, mini handcuffs and bits of bondage hit the glassy black catwalk, though in the most ladylike of doses.
"I just love the idea of revealing something, and not giving everything away, you know, at the first moment of keeping something covered," explained Vuitton's creative director Marc Jacobs backstage. "Some things were strict but some things were quite saucy, almost innocent. Everything was covered up, there was no skin, I mean very little skin, some girls didn't wear any skirts so they showed their legs, yet it was conservative."
Jacobs also served up lots of great products, from nipped waists yet voluminous coats, often worn with just boots, snazzy pencil skirts and high-waisted jodhpurs that all looked great. And there was plenty of firepower in the accessories - suggestive rubber riding boots with high heels or lacy fetish booties, LV-stamped totes or commercial and cool fur shoulder bags.
This Vuitton show was the most polished of any of the some 400 shows on any official calendar. In a brilliant piece of production, the house built four faux antique elevators, which liveried porters opened for the naughty models. Even the wrought iron gates were custom made with built-in LV initials.
It was a no expenses spared moment of frothy Parisian panache by an American designer at the height of his game.
*Louis Vuitton is a fabulous brand that has stood out and lasted for years. The classic pieces are always a winner as well as the new hip modern pieces that seem to be something to rave about. Marc Jacobs is at the top of his fashion game, with his "intimate and steady fashion creativity." It's amazing what he comes up with season after season. It's all you can do, to not lose your mind over the next LV purse or shoes or something! This is what fashion is all about; Louis Vuitton! Have a piece!*
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*Join The "Fabulous Conversation*
French maids suggestively dusted down the stairs at the entrance to this show, staged in a courtyard in the Louvre on Wednesday, March 9, in Paris, the last day of shows of a four-city season lasting one month.
Models in suggestive uniforms with tiny plastic masks, S&M corsets, mini handcuffs and bits of bondage hit the glassy black catwalk, though in the most ladylike of doses.
"I just love the idea of revealing something, and not giving everything away, you know, at the first moment of keeping something covered," explained Vuitton's creative director Marc Jacobs backstage. "Some things were strict but some things were quite saucy, almost innocent. Everything was covered up, there was no skin, I mean very little skin, some girls didn't wear any skirts so they showed their legs, yet it was conservative."
Jacobs also served up lots of great products, from nipped waists yet voluminous coats, often worn with just boots, snazzy pencil skirts and high-waisted jodhpurs that all looked great. And there was plenty of firepower in the accessories - suggestive rubber riding boots with high heels or lacy fetish booties, LV-stamped totes or commercial and cool fur shoulder bags.
This Vuitton show was the most polished of any of the some 400 shows on any official calendar. In a brilliant piece of production, the house built four faux antique elevators, which liveried porters opened for the naughty models. Even the wrought iron gates were custom made with built-in LV initials.
It was a no expenses spared moment of frothy Parisian panache by an American designer at the height of his game.
*Louis Vuitton is a fabulous brand that has stood out and lasted for years. The classic pieces are always a winner as well as the new hip modern pieces that seem to be something to rave about. Marc Jacobs is at the top of his fashion game, with his "intimate and steady fashion creativity." It's amazing what he comes up with season after season. It's all you can do, to not lose your mind over the next LV purse or shoes or something! This is what fashion is all about; Louis Vuitton! Have a piece!*
Diva's Nation
*Join The "Fabulous Conversation*
Supermom blogger Kelly Oxford has book deal!
(AP) Kelly Oxford is a blogger, Twitter star and inspiration for a new CBS sitcom. Now, she has a book deal.
It Books and HarperCollinsCanada, imprints of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Tuesday that they would publish her memoir in the summer of 2012. The currently untitled book will be a "a series of side-splitting essays."
Oxford, who lives in Calgary, Alberta, is a wisecracking, stay-at-home mother of three with such famous fans as Jimmy Kimmel and Jessica Alba. Her life is the basis of "The Mother of All Something," a planned CBS sitcom for which Alba will serve as executive producer.
CBS already airs the Twitter-inspired sitcom "$(hash)(asterisk)! My Dad Says."
*Good for her! It's always great to hear "Moms" doing their thing! You go girl!
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It Books and HarperCollinsCanada, imprints of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Tuesday that they would publish her memoir in the summer of 2012. The currently untitled book will be a "a series of side-splitting essays."
Oxford, who lives in Calgary, Alberta, is a wisecracking, stay-at-home mother of three with such famous fans as Jimmy Kimmel and Jessica Alba. Her life is the basis of "The Mother of All Something," a planned CBS sitcom for which Alba will serve as executive producer.
CBS already airs the Twitter-inspired sitcom "$(hash)(asterisk)! My Dad Says."
*Good for her! It's always great to hear "Moms" doing their thing! You go girl!
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The 7-year itch is now the 3-year glitch!
(Reuters) The "three-year glitch" has replaced the "seven-year itch" as the tipping point where couples start to take each other for granted, according to a new survey.
Weight gain, stinginess, toe-nail clippings on the bathroom floor and snoring are a few of the passion-killers that have led to a swifter decline in relationships in the fast-paced 21st century, said the study commissioned by Warner Brothers to promote the release of comedy film "Hall Pass" in UK cinemas.
The survey of 2,000 British adults in steady relationships pinpointed the 36-month mark as the time when relationship stress levels peak and points to a new trend of "pink passes" and "solo" holidays away from partners and spouses that many Britons resort to in order to keep romance alive.
"Longer working hours combined with money worries are clearly taking their toll on modern relationships and we are seeing an increasing trend for solo holidays and weekends away from marriages and relationships in order to revive the romantic spark," said pollster Judi James who oversaw the survey.
The poll compared feedback from those in short-term relationships (defined as less than three years) and people who were married or in longer-term partnerships.
The findings showed that 67 percent of all of those surveyed said that small irritations which are seemingly harmless and often endearing during the first flushes of love often expand into major irritations around 36 months.
More than half of the Brits surveyed (52 percent) who were in younger relationships said they enjoyed sexual relations at least three times a week, compared to just 16 percent of those in relationships older than three years.
This suggests that as we get older together, romance gives way to day to day practicalities, supported by the fact that 55 percent of busy people in longer-term relationships admit that they now have to "schedule" their romantic time.
The report also said that those in the first flush of love can look forward to an average of three compliments a week from their partners - a figure which falls to an average of a single weekly compliment at the three-year high tide mark.
The prognosis gets worse the longer we stay in relationships, three in 10 of those surveyed that have been in a relationship for five years or more said that they never receive any compliments from their partners.
The findings also showed that more than three quarters (76 percent) of all people surveyed responded that "individual space was important" within a relationship and pointed to a rise of individual activities.
A third (34%) of those who have been seeing their partners for longer than three years have at least two evenings a month defined as a "pass" or a "ticket" where it is accepted that they can pursue their own interests and 58 percent of the same sample group enjoy regular holidays without their partners.
The top 10 everyday niggles and passion-killers: 1. Weight gain/lack of exercise, 13 percent; 2. Money & Spend thriftiness, 11 percent; 3. Anti-social working hours, 10 percent; 4. Hygiene issues (personal cleanliness), 9 percent; 5. In-Laws/extended family - too much/too little, 9 percent; 6. Lack of romance (sex, treats etc.), 8 percent; 7. Alcohol - drinking too much, 7 percent; 8. Snoring & anti social bedtime habits, 6 percent; 9. Lapsed fashion-Same old underwear/clothes, 4 percent; 10. Bathroom habits - Stray nail cuttings etc., 4 percent.
*This is a very interesting article to judge how a couple thinks vs. what a couple really thinks. It's apparent that relationships don't survive because individuals "don't look before they leap." So many people find themselves caught up in dead-end relationships because they had preconceived notions about the individual before truly getting to know them. Another factor, as to why people so-called get a itch to leave is; they have completely given up and checked out. It has nothing to do with a busy schedule or this or that; it's comes down to, how hard do you want to work at maintaining a spicy, and fulfilling relationship.*
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Weight gain, stinginess, toe-nail clippings on the bathroom floor and snoring are a few of the passion-killers that have led to a swifter decline in relationships in the fast-paced 21st century, said the study commissioned by Warner Brothers to promote the release of comedy film "Hall Pass" in UK cinemas.
The survey of 2,000 British adults in steady relationships pinpointed the 36-month mark as the time when relationship stress levels peak and points to a new trend of "pink passes" and "solo" holidays away from partners and spouses that many Britons resort to in order to keep romance alive.
"Longer working hours combined with money worries are clearly taking their toll on modern relationships and we are seeing an increasing trend for solo holidays and weekends away from marriages and relationships in order to revive the romantic spark," said pollster Judi James who oversaw the survey.
The poll compared feedback from those in short-term relationships (defined as less than three years) and people who were married or in longer-term partnerships.
The findings showed that 67 percent of all of those surveyed said that small irritations which are seemingly harmless and often endearing during the first flushes of love often expand into major irritations around 36 months.
More than half of the Brits surveyed (52 percent) who were in younger relationships said they enjoyed sexual relations at least three times a week, compared to just 16 percent of those in relationships older than three years.
This suggests that as we get older together, romance gives way to day to day practicalities, supported by the fact that 55 percent of busy people in longer-term relationships admit that they now have to "schedule" their romantic time.
The report also said that those in the first flush of love can look forward to an average of three compliments a week from their partners - a figure which falls to an average of a single weekly compliment at the three-year high tide mark.
The prognosis gets worse the longer we stay in relationships, three in 10 of those surveyed that have been in a relationship for five years or more said that they never receive any compliments from their partners.
The findings also showed that more than three quarters (76 percent) of all people surveyed responded that "individual space was important" within a relationship and pointed to a rise of individual activities.
A third (34%) of those who have been seeing their partners for longer than three years have at least two evenings a month defined as a "pass" or a "ticket" where it is accepted that they can pursue their own interests and 58 percent of the same sample group enjoy regular holidays without their partners.
The top 10 everyday niggles and passion-killers: 1. Weight gain/lack of exercise, 13 percent; 2. Money & Spend thriftiness, 11 percent; 3. Anti-social working hours, 10 percent; 4. Hygiene issues (personal cleanliness), 9 percent; 5. In-Laws/extended family - too much/too little, 9 percent; 6. Lack of romance (sex, treats etc.), 8 percent; 7. Alcohol - drinking too much, 7 percent; 8. Snoring & anti social bedtime habits, 6 percent; 9. Lapsed fashion-Same old underwear/clothes, 4 percent; 10. Bathroom habits - Stray nail cuttings etc., 4 percent.
*This is a very interesting article to judge how a couple thinks vs. what a couple really thinks. It's apparent that relationships don't survive because individuals "don't look before they leap." So many people find themselves caught up in dead-end relationships because they had preconceived notions about the individual before truly getting to know them. Another factor, as to why people so-called get a itch to leave is; they have completely given up and checked out. It has nothing to do with a busy schedule or this or that; it's comes down to, how hard do you want to work at maintaining a spicy, and fulfilling relationship.*
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*Join The Conversation*
Monday, March 7, 2011
Eating disorders hit more than half million teens!
(AP) More than half a million U.S. teens have had an eating disorder but few have sought treatment for the problem, government research shows.
The study is billed as the largest and most comprehensive analysis of eating disorders. It involved nationally representative data on more than 10,000 teens aged 13 to 18.
Binge-eating disorder was the most common, affecting more than 1.5 percent of kids studied. Just under 1 percent had experienced bulimia, and 0.3 percent had had anorexia. Overall, 3 percent had a lifetime prevalence of one of the disorders. Another 3 percent of kids questioned had troubling symptoms but not full-fledged eating disorders.
The study was released online Monday in Archives of General Psychiatry.
The rates are slightly higher than in other studies. And the study is based on kids and parents interviewed over two years ending in 2004. But co-author and researcher Kathleen Merikangas of the National Institute of Mental Health says similar rates likely exist today.
More than half the affected teens had depression, anxiety or some other mental disorder. Sizeable numbers also reported suicide thoughts or attempts.
Merikangas said the results underscore the seriousness of eating disorders.
*This is a troubling study on so many levels. We all know of someone or someone who has had an eating disorder. It can hurt you and even kill you! The bottom line is, many of our youth is stuck on how they look or how they don't look. Many are concerned with the outside appearance than the overall aspect of themselves. The truth is that, many parents need to pay more attention to your kids and their eating habits. That goes for parents of obese kids as well. Parents also need to educate themselves on the dangers and the signs of a possible eating disorder in the works. All in all, if more parents, and community members educate themselves and leave the DENIAL out, then maybe there can be an intervention before it gets out of hand.*
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The study is billed as the largest and most comprehensive analysis of eating disorders. It involved nationally representative data on more than 10,000 teens aged 13 to 18.
Binge-eating disorder was the most common, affecting more than 1.5 percent of kids studied. Just under 1 percent had experienced bulimia, and 0.3 percent had had anorexia. Overall, 3 percent had a lifetime prevalence of one of the disorders. Another 3 percent of kids questioned had troubling symptoms but not full-fledged eating disorders.
The study was released online Monday in Archives of General Psychiatry.
The rates are slightly higher than in other studies. And the study is based on kids and parents interviewed over two years ending in 2004. But co-author and researcher Kathleen Merikangas of the National Institute of Mental Health says similar rates likely exist today.
More than half the affected teens had depression, anxiety or some other mental disorder. Sizeable numbers also reported suicide thoughts or attempts.
Merikangas said the results underscore the seriousness of eating disorders.
*This is a troubling study on so many levels. We all know of someone or someone who has had an eating disorder. It can hurt you and even kill you! The bottom line is, many of our youth is stuck on how they look or how they don't look. Many are concerned with the outside appearance than the overall aspect of themselves. The truth is that, many parents need to pay more attention to your kids and their eating habits. That goes for parents of obese kids as well. Parents also need to educate themselves on the dangers and the signs of a possible eating disorder in the works. All in all, if more parents, and community members educate themselves and leave the DENIAL out, then maybe there can be an intervention before it gets out of hand.*
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Sunday, March 6, 2011
Jewish groups oppose circumcision ban in US city!
(AFP) Jewish groups and others are up at arms over an attempt to outlaw male circumcision in San Francisco by putting the issue to a popular vote.
Self-described "intactivist" Lloyd Schofield has been collecting signatures for a voter initiative that would criminalize infant circumcision in the Californian city.
After two months of collecting names, he claims to be more than half way toward getting the 7,168 signatures he needs by late April to put the matter on the November ballot.
Schofield and a growing community of anti-circumcision activists say that infants should not be forced to participate in what is essentially culturally accepted genital mutilation.
They claim that the procedure can cause health risks and diminished sexual function and compare it to the clitoridectomies performed on girls in parts of Africa.
"This is a human rights issue," he said. "What you're doing is you're taking an infant and removing the most sensitive part of their body."
Jewish organizations have pledged to fight the measure should it be placed on the ballot. Anti-Defamation League director Daniel Sandman called Schofield's effort discriminatory and misguided.
"This is hurtful and offensive to people in the community who consider this a coveted ritual," he said.
Abby Porth of the Jewish Community Relations Council charged Schofield with wasting city resources for an inappropriate political stunt that was unlikely to become law.
"This is one of the most fundamental practices to our tradition of over 3,000 years," she said. "It's symbolic of our covenant with God."
Porth said the Jewish community would form a coalition against the initiative with medical professionals and Muslims, who also practice circumcision.
"It's very similar to those of the Jewish faith," said Omar Nawaz of the Bay Area-based Zaytuna College, one of the nation's only Muslim colleges. "It's a religious tradition and it's important for us."
Both pro- and anti-circumcision advocates make health claims, but the medical research does not firmly support either position.
The American Academy of Pediatrics holds that there are both benefits and risks to infant circumcision, and recommends that parents make the choice for themselves.
Several other health bodies are reviewing the evidence on circumcision with an eye to new policy recommendations.
Circumcision rates among US male infants have dropped in recent decades, but more than half of newborns are still circumcised, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
If the ban is approved, those caught cutting the foreskins of infants and other minors would face up to a year in jail and up to $1,000 in fines.
The ban would certainly face legal challenges, and could be found in violation of the First Amendment right to Freedom of Religion.
However, it would not be subject to legislative amendment.
California's unique voter initiative system allows residents to place virtually anything on the ballot so long as they secure the requisite signatures.
Many of California's most controversial and restrictive policies have been passed this way, among them a drastic reduction in property taxes and a ban on gay marriage.
San Francisco resident Mark Reiss, who grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home, is among a vocal community of circumcised men who say they struggle with the emotional and physical effects of circumcision.
He runs a website that lists rabbis nationwide who will preside over a naming ritual similar to the one performed at Jewish circumcisions but with no cutting.
Schofeld said that the issue is not one of cultural practice, but of individual freedom.
"This is a painful and irreversible surgery," Schofield said. "It's a man's body. It's his right to choose and we're trying to preserve that choice."
*WOW! The lengths people/groups will go to put people in jail. I have to ask; isn't circumcision up to the parents? Don't we have enough people in jail for little things? Aren't the jails already crowded? This goes way beyond ridiculous on so many levels! This just goes to show that people will always have something to complain about and make a headline with. It's people like this that have nothing better to do but complain and saturate the media with simple minded things like this. Why must we (the rest of America) be subjected to mess like this? All in all, it should be up to the parent (s) if they want their son circumcised. It's clear as day; do it or not do it. No law should be in place to put a parents in jail just because they circumcise their son. GIVE ME A BREAK!
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Self-described "intactivist" Lloyd Schofield has been collecting signatures for a voter initiative that would criminalize infant circumcision in the Californian city.
After two months of collecting names, he claims to be more than half way toward getting the 7,168 signatures he needs by late April to put the matter on the November ballot.
Schofield and a growing community of anti-circumcision activists say that infants should not be forced to participate in what is essentially culturally accepted genital mutilation.
They claim that the procedure can cause health risks and diminished sexual function and compare it to the clitoridectomies performed on girls in parts of Africa.
"This is a human rights issue," he said. "What you're doing is you're taking an infant and removing the most sensitive part of their body."
Jewish organizations have pledged to fight the measure should it be placed on the ballot. Anti-Defamation League director Daniel Sandman called Schofield's effort discriminatory and misguided.
"This is hurtful and offensive to people in the community who consider this a coveted ritual," he said.
Abby Porth of the Jewish Community Relations Council charged Schofield with wasting city resources for an inappropriate political stunt that was unlikely to become law.
"This is one of the most fundamental practices to our tradition of over 3,000 years," she said. "It's symbolic of our covenant with God."
Porth said the Jewish community would form a coalition against the initiative with medical professionals and Muslims, who also practice circumcision.
"It's very similar to those of the Jewish faith," said Omar Nawaz of the Bay Area-based Zaytuna College, one of the nation's only Muslim colleges. "It's a religious tradition and it's important for us."
Both pro- and anti-circumcision advocates make health claims, but the medical research does not firmly support either position.
The American Academy of Pediatrics holds that there are both benefits and risks to infant circumcision, and recommends that parents make the choice for themselves.
Several other health bodies are reviewing the evidence on circumcision with an eye to new policy recommendations.
Circumcision rates among US male infants have dropped in recent decades, but more than half of newborns are still circumcised, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
If the ban is approved, those caught cutting the foreskins of infants and other minors would face up to a year in jail and up to $1,000 in fines.
The ban would certainly face legal challenges, and could be found in violation of the First Amendment right to Freedom of Religion.
However, it would not be subject to legislative amendment.
California's unique voter initiative system allows residents to place virtually anything on the ballot so long as they secure the requisite signatures.
Many of California's most controversial and restrictive policies have been passed this way, among them a drastic reduction in property taxes and a ban on gay marriage.
San Francisco resident Mark Reiss, who grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home, is among a vocal community of circumcised men who say they struggle with the emotional and physical effects of circumcision.
He runs a website that lists rabbis nationwide who will preside over a naming ritual similar to the one performed at Jewish circumcisions but with no cutting.
Schofeld said that the issue is not one of cultural practice, but of individual freedom.
"This is a painful and irreversible surgery," Schofield said. "It's a man's body. It's his right to choose and we're trying to preserve that choice."
*WOW! The lengths people/groups will go to put people in jail. I have to ask; isn't circumcision up to the parents? Don't we have enough people in jail for little things? Aren't the jails already crowded? This goes way beyond ridiculous on so many levels! This just goes to show that people will always have something to complain about and make a headline with. It's people like this that have nothing better to do but complain and saturate the media with simple minded things like this. Why must we (the rest of America) be subjected to mess like this? All in all, it should be up to the parent (s) if they want their son circumcised. It's clear as day; do it or not do it. No law should be in place to put a parents in jail just because they circumcise their son. GIVE ME A BREAK!
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Watch out for these 10 common scams!
(consumerreports.org) Whether it’s fake checks, bogus products and services, or identity theft, it seems as if there’s always someone out there trying to make suckers out of us. In the first six months of 2010, scams reported to the fraud center at the National Consumers League cost victims an average of $810.
It’s not always easy to spot a scam, even for savvy consumers. That’s why you should always be vigilant and take general precautions. Here are some common schemes.
Say you find a really great deal on a digital camera at an online retailer. But shortly after placing your order, you get a phone call from a company representative trying to sell you extra lenses, a fancy case, and other pricey add-ons. You refuse the high-pressure sales pitch, and later you’re notified that the camera is no longer in stock. Or it never arrives.
Nonexistent or misrepresented merchandise on the Internet was the fraud center’s top complaint in the first half of 2010, with an average loss of $931. That doesn’t include fraud involving online auctions, which ranked eighth.
If you’re victimized after paying with cash or by check, you could be out of luck. So use a credit card, especially when buying online or over the phone. If the order doesn’t arrive, you can challenge the purchase under federal credit-card rules. Debit-card purchases offer less protection, although some banks voluntarily provide additional safeguards.
Incidentally, to reduce the risk of unauthorized charges, you might want to consider using a temporary "virtual" or "online" credit-card number, if your bank offers one, for purchases on the Web. In most cases you can request one on the issuer’s website. Citibank offers virtual-card software you can install on your computer. You can limit the time the virtual number is active and the maximum amount that can be charged.
These schemes come under many guises. Bogus checks can be used to pay for something you’re selling, such as a used car. Or someone might contact you about a "work at home" opportunity or sweepstakes that you supposedly won. He or she might use a fake check to pay you, with instructions to deposit it and then wire a portion of the proceeds to another party, perhaps to pay "required" fees or taxes. In many cases, these scams involve what appear to be certified or bank checks—but that’s no guarantee that they’re legitimate. If you deposit or cash a phony check at your bank, it will bounce and your bank will come after you to settle up.
Fake check fraud was the National Consumers League’s top scam in 2009; it’s now No. 2, representing one in four of the complaint reports that the group receives. The trick costs victims an average of $371.
Phishing, spoofing, and identity theft
Scammers use e-mail messages, phone calls, and other ways to trick people into revealing their passwords, credit-card and Social Security numbers, and other personal information they can use to steal identities, open credit lines, and the like.
Don’t click on hyperlinks you receive in e-mail messages, and carefully type web addresses into your browser to avoid typos. Scammers sometimes set up bogus sites using common misspellings of legitimate web addresses, a practice known as "typosquatting."
Keep your computer’s antivirus and antiphishing software up-to-date. And consider using a browser plug-in, such the free McAfee SiteAdvisor (www.siteadvisor.com), which warns about phishing websites and those that transmit viruses.
The grandparent scam
This one comes as a call from a family member, perhaps someone who identifies himself as your grandson, saying he needs help. The story might be that he was in an accident or arrested while traveling outside the country and needs you to wire emergency money, often to Canada. Such calls have cost victims thousands of dollars.
These vacation offers can often be found at fairs and trade shows, or they might come in unsolicited phone calls, faxes, e-mail, or postcards. They’re often used to entice you to attend sales promotions, say, for a vacation time-share. But some are simply stand-alone offers for trips. Despite the hype, the vacations are usually anything but free or even bargain-priced.
After attending the sales pitch, you might find that you’re ineligible for the promised trip because you didn’t comply with hidden or hard-to-understand terms and conditions. Available travel dates might be limited and accommodations awful unless you pay for upgrades.
After buying a product or service, you find that you’re being charged for something you never meant to order. Maybe it’s rustproofing for a new car at a dealership, or a club membership or subscription.
Details about extras might be buried in a contract or a website’s fine print. Some companies pass credit-card information to third-parties who are ready to charge the minute customers click an "OK" button online or unknowingly give consent.
It could come as e-mail or a phone call urging you to help some cause that might be in the news or tugs at your heartstrings. Some charities are outright frauds; others do little, if anything, to help a cause.
If you want to help during an emergency, such as a flood or famine, stick with major established charities such as the Red Cross. Charity watchdogs often post names of legitimate groups that help victims.
Scammers are always ready to strike after reports of promising dietary supplements and other "medical breakthroughs" hit the news. Websites spring up overnight hawking products—acai berry supplements, for example—even though there’s scant evidence of their benefits. The sites might feature celebrity "experts" or phony "reader" comments. Many offer free trials in order to get your credit- or debit-card number and then enroll you in ongoing fee-based programs.
Sweepstakes scams
Who doesn’t want to win a big prize? But if you respond to mail declaring that you’re a finalist, or even a winner, the only ones who’ll be stuffing their pockets will be the scammers who sent it to you.
Many of these mailings or prize-related phone calls imply that buying something increases your chances of winning. In another variation, you might be told that you have to mail an advance payment to cover taxes, shipping and handling, or other incidental costs of processing or delivering your fabulous prize. Of course, you’ll get nothing in return.
This one involves companies promising to get you a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit. But after paying the required fee, you might not hear from the company again, or you might be offered a debit or stored-value card. Such offers appear in ads or on websites run by companies that engage in this type of "service." It’s illegal for a company doing business by phone to promise a loan and require a fee before it’s delivered.
*Anyone who has common sense should know not to fall for these bogus scams. It's pretty obvious when you see them coming back to back as spam. These scams are all over the internet, and many of these people work in groups over seas in places like "Nigeria." If you see any of these things in your email; delete them or foward them to the authories. These sick and twisted people will stop at nothing to scam you out of your hard earned money. Follow your gut and delete!*
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It’s not always easy to spot a scam, even for savvy consumers. That’s why you should always be vigilant and take general precautions. Here are some common schemes.
Merchandise fraud
Say you find a really great deal on a digital camera at an online retailer. But shortly after placing your order, you get a phone call from a company representative trying to sell you extra lenses, a fancy case, and other pricey add-ons. You refuse the high-pressure sales pitch, and later you’re notified that the camera is no longer in stock. Or it never arrives.
Nonexistent or misrepresented merchandise on the Internet was the fraud center’s top complaint in the first half of 2010, with an average loss of $931. That doesn’t include fraud involving online auctions, which ranked eighth.
What to do
Check out sellers you’re unfamiliar with before buying anything from them. To start, find out whether a company has a report and rating with the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org).If you’re victimized after paying with cash or by check, you could be out of luck. So use a credit card, especially when buying online or over the phone. If the order doesn’t arrive, you can challenge the purchase under federal credit-card rules. Debit-card purchases offer less protection, although some banks voluntarily provide additional safeguards.
Incidentally, to reduce the risk of unauthorized charges, you might want to consider using a temporary "virtual" or "online" credit-card number, if your bank offers one, for purchases on the Web. In most cases you can request one on the issuer’s website. Citibank offers virtual-card software you can install on your computer. You can limit the time the virtual number is active and the maximum amount that can be charged.
Fake checks
These schemes come under many guises. Bogus checks can be used to pay for something you’re selling, such as a used car. Or someone might contact you about a "work at home" opportunity or sweepstakes that you supposedly won. He or she might use a fake check to pay you, with instructions to deposit it and then wire a portion of the proceeds to another party, perhaps to pay "required" fees or taxes. In many cases, these scams involve what appear to be certified or bank checks—but that’s no guarantee that they’re legitimate. If you deposit or cash a phony check at your bank, it will bounce and your bank will come after you to settle up.
Fake check fraud was the National Consumers League’s top scam in 2009; it’s now No. 2, representing one in four of the complaint reports that the group receives. The trick costs victims an average of $371.
What to do
Before depositing a check from an unfamiliar source, check with the institution whose name appears on it. And because the bank’s contact information on the check could belong to the scammer, search for the institution’s phone number and address separately.Phishing, spoofing, and identity theft
Scammers use e-mail messages, phone calls, and other ways to trick people into revealing their passwords, credit-card and Social Security numbers, and other personal information they can use to steal identities, open credit lines, and the like.
What to do
Don’t respond to e-mail messages or phone calls asking for your passwords or other personal information, no matter how urgent the appeal. Instead, contact your bank or other party to see if it made the request.Don’t click on hyperlinks you receive in e-mail messages, and carefully type web addresses into your browser to avoid typos. Scammers sometimes set up bogus sites using common misspellings of legitimate web addresses, a practice known as "typosquatting."
Keep your computer’s antivirus and antiphishing software up-to-date. And consider using a browser plug-in, such the free McAfee SiteAdvisor (www.siteadvisor.com), which warns about phishing websites and those that transmit viruses.
The grandparent scam
This one comes as a call from a family member, perhaps someone who identifies himself as your grandson, saying he needs help. The story might be that he was in an accident or arrested while traveling outside the country and needs you to wire emergency money, often to Canada. Such calls have cost victims thousands of dollars.
What to do
Don’t give money to anyone without verifying his or her identity. If you get a call from a friend or relative asking for help, politely hang up and call the person’s home or cell-phone number to find out if they made the call and the emergency is real. You can also call relatives to help determine that the call is legit.Travel deals with catches
These vacation offers can often be found at fairs and trade shows, or they might come in unsolicited phone calls, faxes, e-mail, or postcards. They’re often used to entice you to attend sales promotions, say, for a vacation time-share. But some are simply stand-alone offers for trips. Despite the hype, the vacations are usually anything but free or even bargain-priced.
After attending the sales pitch, you might find that you’re ineligible for the promised trip because you didn’t comply with hidden or hard-to-understand terms and conditions. Available travel dates might be limited and accommodations awful unless you pay for upgrades.
What to do
Forget about this type of vacation. If a business has to offer free trips to generate interest, its products or services probably aren’t worth considering.Poorly disclosed extras
After buying a product or service, you find that you’re being charged for something you never meant to order. Maybe it’s rustproofing for a new car at a dealership, or a club membership or subscription.
Details about extras might be buried in a contract or a website’s fine print. Some companies pass credit-card information to third-parties who are ready to charge the minute customers click an "OK" button online or unknowingly give consent.
What to do
Read everything carefully before you sign or click. Question anything that’s unclear, and don’t proceed until you’re satisfied with the answers.Phony charities
It could come as e-mail or a phone call urging you to help some cause that might be in the news or tugs at your heartstrings. Some charities are outright frauds; others do little, if anything, to help a cause.
What to do
Don’t respond immediately to a solicitation. Instead, check out the group with the major charity watchdogs: the American Institute of Philanthropy (www.charitywatch.org); the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance (www.give.org); and the Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org). And make sure you’re dealing with the right group. Many con artists use names similar to legitimate charities. For local groups that don’t appear on watchdog reports, ask the charity for further information, or donate through a local fundraising federation, such as the United Way, that screens groups.If you want to help during an emergency, such as a flood or famine, stick with major established charities such as the Red Cross. Charity watchdogs often post names of legitimate groups that help victims.
Health-products fraud
Scammers are always ready to strike after reports of promising dietary supplements and other "medical breakthroughs" hit the news. Websites spring up overnight hawking products—acai berry supplements, for example—even though there’s scant evidence of their benefits. The sites might feature celebrity "experts" or phony "reader" comments. Many offer free trials in order to get your credit- or debit-card number and then enroll you in ongoing fee-based programs.
What to do
Buy health products only from companies you know and trust. Double-check the terms and conditions if you’re signing up for a free trial that requires you to give payment information.Sweepstakes scams
Who doesn’t want to win a big prize? But if you respond to mail declaring that you’re a finalist, or even a winner, the only ones who’ll be stuffing their pockets will be the scammers who sent it to you.
Many of these mailings or prize-related phone calls imply that buying something increases your chances of winning. In another variation, you might be told that you have to mail an advance payment to cover taxes, shipping and handling, or other incidental costs of processing or delivering your fabulous prize. Of course, you’ll get nothing in return.
What to do
By law, buying services or merchandise can’t increase your odds of winning a sweepstakes. Just saying no if you’re asked to respond to a prize or sweepstakes promotion will increase your odds—of not getting ripped off.Advance-fee loans
This one involves companies promising to get you a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit. But after paying the required fee, you might not hear from the company again, or you might be offered a debit or stored-value card. Such offers appear in ads or on websites run by companies that engage in this type of "service." It’s illegal for a company doing business by phone to promise a loan and require a fee before it’s delivered.
What to do
Avoid companies that promise to get you a loan but don’t seem interested in your credit history, the Federal Trade Commission warns. And never pay an advance fee for a loan, even if it’s for "insurance," "processing," or "paperwork."*Anyone who has common sense should know not to fall for these bogus scams. It's pretty obvious when you see them coming back to back as spam. These scams are all over the internet, and many of these people work in groups over seas in places like "Nigeria." If you see any of these things in your email; delete them or foward them to the authories. These sick and twisted people will stop at nothing to scam you out of your hard earned money. Follow your gut and delete!*
Diva's Nation
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