EAT TURKEY and all the trimmings to your hearts content!

As the table is spread with food of all kinds

and thoughts of stuffed turkey swirl in your mind

remember the bloated feeling soon to befall

with every helping of stuffing cramming your abdonemal wall,

And let's not forget the pumpkin pie

guaranteed to add to your feeling of over-supply

as we raise our glasses of champagne and wine

and salute the turkey instead of the swine

who gobbled his way to our Table divine!

Gobble, gooble, gobble!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Donofrio v Obama Citizenship
Case Moves To New
Supreme Court Level
By Devvy Kidd
11-19-8

Leo Donofrio's case submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court reagrding Obama's citizenship has reached a new level: the case has been "distributed for conference."

On December 5, 2008, only ten days before the electoral college votes, the nine Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will meet in private to discuss this case identified as:

Leo C. Donofrio, v. Nina Mitchell Wells, Secretary of State of the State of New Jersey
United States Supreme Court Docket No. 08A407

Leo informed me earlier today via telephone about this historic event and wanted to thank everyone who sent their letters to Justice Clarence Thomas.

This is the link to the Supreme Court showing the docket and action:

http://origin.www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/08a407.htm

If you go to this link, it will give you the process under Title 18:

http://nocriminalcode.blogspot.com/2007/10/petition-distributed-for- conference-on.html

Click on Justices Conference for more history on this process.

This docketing today by the court for this next step should send ripples of fear through the Obama camp. Obama has been proceeding at lighenting speed to put together a cabinet and take possession of the White House with the hope that he won't have to answer the question of whether or not he was "at birth" a "natural born citizen."

Every major news network, print and cable news like FOX, CNN and MSNBC, have ignored all the court cases challenging Obama's eligibility as sore losers or conspiracy theories. It might be in their best interest at this point to report this critically important meeting to take place on December 5, 2008, or lose what little credibility they have left.

Disclaimer

...AND ANOTHER NEWS TIDBIT:

Thursday, November 20, 2008
OBAMA WATCH CENTRAL
WorldNetDaily
Supremes to review
Barack's citizenship
Case challenging his name
on ballot set for 'conference'
Posted: November 20, 2008
1:10 am Eastern

By Bob Unruh
WorldNetDaily

A case that challenges President-elect Barack Obama's name on the 2008 election ballot citing questions over his citizenship has been scheduled for a "conference" at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Conferences are private meetings of the justices at which they review cases and decide which ones to accept for formal review. This case is set for a conference Dec. 5, just 10 days before the Electoral College is scheduled to meet to make formal the election of Obama as the nation's next president.

The Supreme Court's website listed the date for the case brought by Leo C. Donofrio against Nina Wells, the secretary of state in New Jersey, over not only Obama's name on the 2008 election ballot but those of two others, Sen. John McCain and Roger Calero.

(Story continues below)

The case, unsuccessful at the state level, had been submitted to Justice David Souter, who rejected it. The case then was resubmitted to Justice Clarence Thomas. The next line on the court's docket says: "DISTRIBUTED for Conference of December 5, 2008."

If four of the nine justices vote to hear the case in full, oral argument may be scheduled.

The action questions whether any of the three candidates is qualified under the U.S. Constitution's requirement that a president be a "natural-born citizen."

According to America's Right blogger Jeff Schreiber, there also was a development in a second case presented to the Supreme Court on the same issue.

His report said the Federal Election Commission now has waived its right to respond to a complaint brought by attorney Philip Berg.

"There are a number of reasons why the respondents here would choose not to respond. First, because the court only grants between 70 and 120 of the 8,000 or so petitions it receives every year, perhaps they just liked their odds of Berg's petition getting denied. Second, because they have made arguments as to Berg's lack of standing several times at the district court level and beyond, perhaps they felt as though any arguments had already been made and were available on the record. Or, perhaps the waiver shows that the FEC and other respondents do not take seriously the allegations put forth by Berg, and did not wish to legitimize the claims with a response," the blogger speculated.

"Another thing which is not completely clear is whether the FEC is filing for itself or on behalf of all respondents," he added.

"If it were just the FEC filing the waiver, I must say that I'm surprised," Berg told America's Right. "I'm surprised because I think they should take the position that the Supreme Court should grant standing to us. I think they have a responsibility not only to Phil Berg, but to all citizens of this country, to put forth a sense of balance which otherwise doesn't seem to exist.

"However, if this was filed by the FEC on behalf of the DNC and Barack Obama too, it reeks of collusion," he said, noting that the attorney from the Solicitor General's office should be representing federal respondents and not the DNC or Obama.

But he noted that "questions surrounding this aspect of Obama's candidacy are seemingly beginning to see the light of day."

Just last week, WND reported on worries over a "constitutional crisis" that could be looming over the issue of Obama's citizenship.

Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes and others filed a court petition in California asking the secretary of state to refuse to allow the state's 55 Electoral College votes to be cast in the 2008 presidential election until Obama verifies his eligibility to hold the office.

Alan Keyes
Alan Keyes

The disputes all cite "natural-born citizen" requirement set by the U.S. Constitution.

WND senior reporter Jerome Corsi even traveled to Kenya and Hawaii prior to the election to investigate issues surrounding Obama's birth. But his research and discoveries only raised more questions.

The biggest question is why Obama, if a Hawaii birth certificate exists as his campaign has stated, simply hasn't ordered it made available to settle the rumors.

The governor's office in Hawaii said there is a valid certificate but rejected requests for access and left ambiguous its origin: Does the certificate on file with the Department of Health indicate a Hawaii birth or was it generated after the Obama family registered a Kenyan birth in Hawaii?

Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro, has named two different Hawaii hospitals where Obama could have been born. There have been other allegations that Obama actually was born in Kenya during a time when his father was a British subject.

The California action was filed by Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation on behalf of Keyes, the presidential candidate of the American Independent Party, along with Wiley S. Drake and Markham Robinson, both California electors.

"Should Senator Obama be discovered, after he takes office, to be ineligible for the Office of President of the United States of America and, thereby, his election declared void, Petitioners, as well as other Americans, will suffer irreparable harm in that (a) usurper will be sitting as the President of the United States, and none of the treaties, laws, or executive orders signed by him will be valid or legal," the action challenges.

An Obama spokesman interviewed by WND described such lawsuits as "garbage."

The popular vote Nov. 4 favored Obama over Sen. John McCain by several percentage points. But because of the distribution of the votes, Obama is projected to take the Electoral College vote, when it is held in December, by a 2-to-1 margin.

The California case states, "There is a reasonable and common expectation by the voters that to qualify for the ballot, the individuals running for office must meet minimum qualifications as outlined in the federal and state Constitutions and statutes, and that compliance with those minimum qualifications has been confirmed by the officials overseeing the election process," the complaint said, when in fact the only documentation currently required is a signed statement from the candidate attesting to those qualifications.

"Since [the secretary of state] has, as its core, the mission of certifying and establishing the validity of the election process, this writ seeks a Court Order barring SOS from certifying the California Electors until documentary proof that Senator Obama is a 'natural born' citizen of the United States of America is received by her," the document said.

"This proof could include items such as his original birth certificate, showing the name of the hospital and the name and the signature of the doctor, all of his passports with immigration stamps, and verification from the governments where the candidate has resided, verifying that he did not, and does not, hold citizenship of these countries, and any other documents that certify an individual’s citizenship and/or qualification for office.

The "certificate of live birth" posted by the Obama campaign cannot be viewed as authoritative, the case alleges.

Get the book that started it all – Jerome Corsi's "The Obama Nation," personally autographed for only $4.95 – an amazing $23 discount!

"Hawaii Revised Statute 338-178 allows registration of birth in Hawaii for a child that was born outside of Hawaii to parents who, for a year preceding the child’s birth, claimed Hawaii as their place of residence," the document said. "The only way to know where Senator Obama was actually born is to view Senator Obama's original birth certificate from 1961 that shows the name of the hospital and the name and signature of the doctor that delivered him."

The case also raises the circumstances of Obama's time during his youth in Indonesia, where he was listed as having Indonesian citizenship. Indonesia does not allow dual citizenship, raising the possibility of Obama's mother having given up his U.S. citizenship.

Any subsequent U.S. citizenship then, the case claims, would be "naturalized," not "natural-born."

WND has reported other challenges that have been raised in Ohio, Connecticut, Washington, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Hawaii.

Related offers:

Get "The Audacity of Deceit," and learn about the looming hostile attack on Judeo-Christian values and freedoms Americans hold dear

Get Jerome Corsi's "The Obama Nation," autographed by the author, exclusively from WND's online store.

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Whistleblower magazine's "THE SECRET LIFE OF BARACK OBAMA"

Get the book that launched the "None of the Above" political movement – personally signed by the author. It comes with a free "None of the Above" magnetized bumper sticker.

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Previous stories:

'Constitutional crisis' looming over Obama's birth location

Obama camp: Lawsuits by citizens are 'garbage'

Will Supreme Court have say in presidency?

Doubts persist about Obama birth certificate

Supremes asked to halt Tuesday's vote

Democrat: Obama's grandma confirms Kenyan birth

Judge dismisses Obama birth certificate lawsuit

Obama 'admits' Kenyan birth?

DNC steps in to silence lawsuit over Obama birth certificate

Democrat sues Sen. Obama over 'fraudulent candidacy'

Blogger reveals Obama birth certificate

Is Obama's candidacy constitutional?

Limbaugh shows Obama stumbles without his notes

Obama denies Michelle made derogatory remark

Obama's VP team has link to Marc Rich

Did Hamas 'un-endorse' Obama?

Nation of Islam activists on Obama camp payroll

Obama's military claims inconsistent with records

Can Obama see dead people?

Obama commits Holocaust gaffe?

Obama misrepresented tie with Palestinian activist?

Report: Obama mentored by Communist Party figure

Obama raised funds for Islamic causes

Obama worked with terrorist

Obama campaign: Mum's the word!

Obama-Farrakhan link off-limits

NBC admits bias toward Obama

...SO, what does everyone think about this? I am curious...

Evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics expects a genetic upper class and a dim-witted underclass to emerge.

The human race would peak in the year 3000, he said - before a decline due to dependence on technology.

People would become choosier about their sexual partners, causing humanity to divide into sub-species, he added.

The descendants of the genetic upper class would be tall, slim, healthy, attractive, intelligent, and creative and a far cry from the "underclass" humans who would have evolved into dim-witted, ugly, squat goblin-like creatures.

Race 'ironed out'

But in the nearer future, humans will evolve in 1,000 years into giants between 6ft and 7ft tall, he predicts, while life-spans will have extended to 120 years, Dr Curry claims.

Physical appearance, driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility, will improve, he says, while men will exhibit symmetrical facial features, look athletic, and have squarer jaws, deeper voices and bigger penises.

Women, on the other hand, will develop lighter, smooth, hairless skin, large clear eyes, pert breasts, glossy hair, and even features, he adds. Racial differences will be ironed out by interbreeding, producing a uniform race of coffee-coloured people.

However, Dr Curry warns, in 10,000 years time humans may have paid a genetic price for relying on technology.

Spoiled by gadgets designed to meet their every need, they could come to resemble domesticated animals.

Receding chins

Social skills, such as communicating and interacting with others, could be lost, along with emotions such as love, sympathy, trust and respect. People would become less able to care for others, or perform in teams.

Physically, they would start to appear more juvenile. Chins would recede, as a result of having to chew less on processed food.

There could also be health problems caused by reliance on medicine, resulting in weak immune systems. Preventing deaths would also help to preserve the genetic defects that cause cancer.

Further into the future, sexual selection - being choosy about one's partner - was likely to create more and more genetic inequality, said Dr Curry.

The logical outcome would be two sub-species, "gracile" and "robust" humans similar to the Eloi and Morlocks foretold by HG Wells in his 1895 novel The Time Machine.

"While science and technology have the potential to create an ideal habitat for humanity over the next millennium, there is a possibility of a monumental genetic hangover over the subsequent millennia due to an over-reliance on technology reducing our natural capacity to resist disease, or our evolved ability to get along with each other, said Dr Curry.

He carried out the report for men's satellite TV channel Bravo.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/6057734.stm

Published: 2006/10/17 08:47:57 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

Here is the link, and article:

Phil J. Berg on Michael Savage - Audio
Friday, 24 October 2008 17:38 administrator Main - News
E-mail Print PDF

Phil J. Berg appeared on the Michael Savage radio program on October 23rd, 2008.

Here's a link to the audio file. Mr. Berg was on the program for the first hour and thirty minutes.

POST COMMENTS

Last Updated ( Friday, 24 October 2008 17:49 )

Phil J. Berg files motions to expedite resolution in Berg v.. Obama
Thursday, 23 October 2008 14:29 administrator Main - Main
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Plaintiff Phil J. Berg filed two motions today seeking an expedited resolution in Berg v. Obama. (PDF's of the motions are attached below.)

PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AGAINST DEFENDANTS, BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA and THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE

This motion argues that the facts have been established that Barack Obama is not constitutionally qualified to be elected or serve as President of the United States, and that the Court should issue a summary judgment as follows:

* That Barack Hussein Obama a/k/a Barry Hussein Obama a/k/a Barack Dunham a/k/a Barry Dunham a/k/a Barack Soetoro a/k/a Barry Soetoro is not a “natural born” or “naturalized” United States citizen.
* That he is ineligible to run for and/or serve as President of the United States.
* That the Democratic National Committee be enjoined from naming Barack Hussein Obama, et al as the Democratic Presidential Candidate on the ballot.
* That the Democratic National Committee and Barack Hussein Obama, et al are enjoined from any further campaigning on behalf of Barack Hussein Obama, et al for Office of the Presidency.
* That Barack Hussein Obama’s, et al name be removed from any and all ballots for the Office of the President of the United States.

PLAINTIFF’S MOTION REQUESTING AN EXPEDITED RULING ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

This motion requests that the court:

* Grant Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment.
* Order that Defendants Response to Plaintiff=s Motion is to be filed and served upon Plaintiff by a specified date.
* Order that a Ruling, Hearing and/or Resolution be set for a specific date.

Attachments: File Description File size
Download this file (Motion for Expedited Ruling,Hearing, or Resolution re Summary Judgment Motion 10)Motion for Expedited Ruling,Hearing, or Resolution re Summary Judgment Motion 10 76 Kb
Download this file (Obama, Plaintiff\'s Motion for Summary Judgment against Obama and the DNC.pdf)Obama, Plaintiff\'s Motion for Summary Judgment against Obama and the DNC.pdf 250 Kb
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 23 October 2008 15:14 )

WorldNetDaily: Obama 'admits' Kenyan birth? Campaign doesn't respond to claims in lawsuit over birth certificate
Thursday, 23 October 2008 21:05 administrator Main - News
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October 21, 2008 | By Drew Zahn | © 2008 WorldNetDaily

Pennsylvania Democrat Philip J. Berg, who filed a lawsuit demanding Sen. Barack Obama present proof of his American citizenship, now says that by failing to respond Obama has legally "admitted" to the lawsuit's accusations, including the charge that the Democratic candidate was born in Mombosa, Kenya.

As WND reported, Berg filed suit in U.S. District Court in August, alleging Obama is not a natural-born citizen and is thus ineligible to serve as president of the United States. Though Obama has posted an image of a Hawaii birth certificate online, Berg demands that the court verify the original document, which the Obama campaign has not provided.

Now Berg cites Rule 36 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which states that unless the accused party provides written answer or objection to charges within 30 days, the accused legally admits the matter.

Since Obama has only filed motions to dismiss and has not actually answered the charges in the lawsuit, Berg claims, according to Rule 36, Obama has legally admitted he is not a natural-born citizen.

Now Berg is asking the court for a formal declaration of Obama's admission and asking the Democratic National Committee for another presidential candidate.

In a statement released today, Berg argues that he filed Requests for Admissions on Sept. 15, meaning Obama had until Oct. 15 to answer or face the consequences of Rule 36.

"Obama and the DNC 'admitted,' by way of failure to timely respond to Requests for Admissions, all of the numerous specific requests in the Federal lawsuit," Berg's statement reads. "Obama is 'not qualified' to be president and therefore Obama must immediately withdraw his candidacy for president and the DNC shall substitute a qualified candidate."

Complete article at WorldNetDaily.com

http://michaelsavage.wnd.com/?pageId=2256

Making some steps to manage your spending can help you position yourself to survive a financial setback such as getting laid off from your job.

In an interview with a local Seacoast financial consultant who asked to "be off the record," he suggested the following:

• Be prepared, but stay optimistic
• Look past today’s news and anticipate recovery
• Pay down loan balances and earn a guaranteed return
• Keep money in stocks
• Don’t chase yield
• Look for value pays/ Some companies that you liked in good times but have been hit in today's markets may represent buying opportunities.

I think one of the most important things we can do, first and foremost, is to stay informed, and stay POSITIVE!

I realize this is a publication out of the UK, but I have major challenges with media journalists who fabricate and look for every angle to misrepresent someone or something. I don't mind effectual, good, honest criticism, but I have serious problems with writers who are groping, looking under ever rug, and in every corner for things that are just ridiculous. It frankly cheapens their work, and in my estimation moves their writing into the zone of "Tabloid journalism," which is ineffectual and pathetic. Speaking of "sinking low..." this kind of writing is at the bottom of the barrel. Ugh.

Cif America
Flirting her way to victory
Sarah Palin's farcical debate performance lowered the standards for both female candidates and US political discourse

Sarah Palin winks during the vice-presidential debate on Thursday in St Louis, Missouri. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

At least three times last night, Sarah Palin, the adorable, preposterous vice-presidential candidate, winked at the audience. Had a male candidate with a similar reputation for attractive vapidity made such a brazen attempt to flirt his way into the good graces of the voting public, it would have universally noted, discussed and mocked. Palin, however, has single-handedly so lowered the standards both for female candidates and American political discourse that, with her newfound ability to speak in more-or-less full sentences, she is now deemed to have performed acceptably last night.

By any normal standard, including the ones applied to male presidential candidates of either party, she did not. Early on, she made the astonishing announcement that she had no intentions of actually answering the queries put to her. "I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record also," she said.

And so she preceded, with an almost surreal disregard for the subjects she was supposed to be discussing, to unleash fusillades of scripted attack lines, platitudes, lies, gibberish and grating references to her own pseudo-folksy authenticity.

It was an appalling display. The only reason it was not widely described as such is that too many American pundits don't even try to judge the truth, wisdom or reasonableness of the political rhetoric they are paid to pronounce upon. Instead, they imagine themselves as interpreters of a mythical mass of "average Americans" who they both venerate and despise.

In pronouncing upon a debate, they don't try and determine whether a candidate's responses correspond to existing reality, or whether he or she is capable of talking about subjects such as the deregulation of the financial markets or the devolution of the war in Afghanistan. The criteria are far more vaporous. In this case, it was whether Palin could avoid utterly humiliating herself for 90 minutes, and whether urbane commentators would believe that she had connected to a public that they see as ignorant and sentimental. For the Alaska governor, mission accomplished.

There is indeed something mesmerising (SPELL CHECK: MESMERIZING) (WHERE IS YOUR EDITOR?) about Palin, with her manic beaming and fulsome confidence in her own charm. The force of her personality managed to slightly obscure the insulting emptiness of her answers last night. It's worth reading the transcript of the encounter, where it becomes clearer how bizarre much of what she said was. Here, for example, is how she responded to Biden's comments about how the middle class has been short-changed during the Bush administration, and how McCain will continue Bush's policies:

Say it ain't so, Joe, there you go again pointing backwards again. You preferenced (SPELL CHECK: PREFERENCE)[sic] your whole comment with the Bush administration. Now doggone it, let's look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future. You mentioned education, and I'm glad you did. I know education you are passionate about with your wife being a teacher for 30 years, and god bless her. Her reward is in heaven, right? ... My brother, who I think is the best schoolteacher in the year, and here's a shout-out to all those third graders at Gladys Wood Elementary School, you get extra credit for watching the debate.

Evidently, Palin's pre-debate handlers judged her incapable of speaking on a fairly wide range of subjects, and so instructed to her to simply disregard questions that did not invite memorised talking points or cutesy filibustering. They probably told her to play up her spunky average-ness, which she did to the point of shtick - and dishonesty. Asked what her achilles heel is - a question she either didn't understand or chose to ignore - she started in on how McCain chose her because of her "connection to the heartland of America. Being a mom, one very concerned about a son in the war, about a special needs child, about kids heading off to college, how are we going to pay those tuition bills?"

None of Palin's children, it should be noted, is heading off to college. Her son is on the way to Iraq, and her pregnant 17-year-old daughter is engaged to be married to a high-school dropout and self-described "BLEEP redneck". Palin is a woman who can't even tell the truth about the most quotidian and public details of her own life, never mind about matters of major public import. In her only vice-presidential debate, she was shallow, mendacious and phoney. (SPELL CHECK: PHONY) What kind of maverick, after all, keeps harping on what a maverick she is? That her performance was considered anything but a farce doesn't show how high Palin has risen, but how low we all have sunk.

Adrienne and Paul’s moments of exchange seem strained and awkward; until a hurricane almost literally blows them into each other’s arms, releasing unbridled passion. If Adrienne had any hopes about returning to her lousy marriage, the days and nights spent with Paul certainly change that. Love is in the air! While this newfound love is mildly plausible it is interrupted by the reality that both Adrienne and Paul have two very separate lives to go deal with. Alas, as fast as their relationship begins, the happy couple says good-bye and leaves with the hope of meeting again.

The film was adapted from Nicholas Spark, the renowned author of “The Notebook,” and while there are elements of sentimentality that are very present in “The Notebook,” this film seems to lose momentum from time to time. However, there are some touching scenes between Adrienne and Paul, amazing ocean vistas, and romantic expectation for the above 40 crowd, while dealing with loss and love.

Not only do parents face organizational challenges with the start of the school year, teachers are facing the daunting reality that many students are bored with text. One elementary school teacher from Boston when asked her opinion said, “Kids are not learning effectively with today’s methods. I believe part of it has to do with their need for electronic stimulation. The textbooks are boring, because our kids are used to being entertained. Think about it: When is the last time you walked anywhere and didn’t see kids of all ages text messaging, walking around with earphones clued to their heads and ipods in their hands. Teachers do not stand a chance against the deluge of electronic stimulation that consumes about 90% of our youth today.” How do teachers and administration deal effectively with this increasing problem? It appears consuming media has far surpassed reading storybooks, or playing dress-up as the average American child’s favorite pastime. Overall, children between the ages of 2 and 18 spend an average of almost five-and-a-half hours a day at home watching television, playing computer games, surfing the web, listening to their Ipods, and text messaging on their cell phones. A kid’s idea of multitasking today, is juggling a text message, a phone call, while keeping one of their earpieces glued to their Ipod attached to their ear.

How does all this media use affect children’s cognitive, emotional and social development? Researchers and teachers alike are searching for answers and taking the question much more seriously. Dr. Sandra Calvert, a professor of psychology at Georgetown University, and the principle investigator and director of the Children’s Media Center said, “American children now grow up with electronic media at their fingertips. Yet there are important gaps in our knowledge about the role of interactive media in children’s healthy development. For years psychologists and educators have been watching these issues escalate, but so far, they have not been able to come up with any concrete answers in dealing with the digital giant.

Between the lurking apathy in many of our high school students, and the inability teachers and publishers have had to stimulate a drive to learn, it may be time to take another tack, before the dropout rate continues to escalate to alarming proportions.

Copyright2008©CCovetti

Faris (who looks more like Goldie Hawn than Kate Hudson) plays the part of the innocent, adorable, ditzy blonde, who happens to have a heart of gold. While Faris gives an endearing performance, the storyline is horribly predictable, and filmmaker Fred Wolf should have taken this film out of the playgirl/playmate power girl zone. Shelley Darlington faces a “life-altering” dilemma: She has been ousted out of the Playboy Mansion by Hugh Heffner himself, and takes up residence as the “house mom” in a sorority house filled with less-than attractive feminists. Naturally, her new life challenge is to transform these rebels i nto respectable “bimbos.”

The film is cute and funny, but most of the laughs stem around the playgirl way of thinking. Amid Shelley Darlington’s predictable role, there does seem to be a deeper message lost in a myriad of silicon madness: That deeper relationships demand actual intellectual ability…at least the lasting ones. In a similar fashion to movies like, “Clueless,” “Legally Blonde,” and even the old famed Marilyn Monroe film, “Some Like It Hot,” “House Bunny,” is a cute recipe for predictability!”

Link to the original post : http://www.flakcircle.com

Uncomfortable Answers to Questions on the Economy
by Peter S. Goodman
Tuesday, July 22, 2008

provided by
The New York Times

You have heard that Fannie and Freddie, their gentle names notwithstanding, may cripple the financial system without a large infusion of taxpayer money. You have gleaned that jobs are disappearing, housing prices are plummeting, and paychecks are effectively shrinking as food and energy prices soar. You have noted the disturbing talk of crisis hovering over Wall Street.

Something has clearly gone wrong with the economy. But how bad are things, really? And how bad might they get before better days return? Even to many economists who recently thought the gloom was overblown, the situation looks grim. The economy is in the midst of a very rough patch. The worst is probably still ahead.
More from NYTimes.com:

• Given a Shovel, Americans Dig Deeper Into Debt

• Food-Shopping Tips Direct From the Store Manager

• Economy Can Wait; Stimulate Your Savings

Job losses will probably accelerate through this year and into 2009, and the job market will probably stay weak even longer. Home prices will probably keep falling, shrinking household wealth and eroding spending power.

"The open question is whether we're in for a bad couple of years, or a bad decade," said Kenneth S. Rogoff, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, now a professor at Harvard.

Is This a Recession?

Officially, no. The economy is not in recession until a panel at a private institution called the National Bureau of Economic Research says so. Unofficially, many economists think a recession started six or seven months ago, even as the economy has continued to expand -- albeit at a tepid pace.

Many assume that if the economy expands at all, then it isn't a recession, but that's not true. The bureau defines a recession as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months." If enough people lose their jobs, factories stop making things, stores stop selling things, and less money lands in people's pockets, it is probably a recession.

Whatever it is called, it is a painful time for tens of millions of people. Indeed, this may turn out to be the most wrenching downturn since the two recessions in the early 1980s; almost surely worse than the recession that ended the technology bubble at the beginning of this decade; perhaps worse than the downturn of the early 1990s that followed the last dip in real estate prices.

But, despite what some doomsayers now proclaim, this is not the Great Depression, when unemployment spiked to 25 percent and millions of previously working people woke up in shantytowns. Not by any measure, even as your neighbors make cryptic remarks above dusting off lessons passed down from grandparents about how to turn a can of beans into a family meal.

How Bad is Housing?

Bad in many markets, awful in some, and still O.K. in a few.

The downturn has its roots in the real estate frenzy that turned lonely Nevada ranches into suburban ranch homes and swampland in Florida into condominiums. Speculators drove home prices beyond any historical connection to incomes. Gravity did the rest. After roughly doubling in value from 2000 to 2005, home prices have fallen about 17 percent -- and more like 25 percent in inflation-adjusted terms -- according to the widely watched Case-Shiller index.

Even so, most economists think house prices must fall an additional 10 to 15 percent to get back to reality. One useful measure is the relationship between the costs of buying and renting a home. From 1985 to 2002, the average American home sold for about 14 times the annual rent for a similar home, according to Moody's Economy.com. By early 2006, home prices ballooned to 25 times rental prices. Since then, the ratio has dipped back to about 20 -- still far above the historical norm.

With mortgages now hard to obtain and speculation no longer attractive, arithmetic has replaced momentum as the guiding force for housing prices. The fundamental equation points down: Even as construction grinds down, there are still many more houses on the market than there are people to buy them, and more on the way as more homeowners slip into foreclosure.

By the reckoning of Economy.com, enough houses are on the market to satisfy demand for the next two-and-a-half years without building a single new one.

The time it takes to sell a newly completed house has expanded from an average of four months in 2005 to about nine months, according to analysis by Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

And many sales are falling through -- more than 30 percent in some parts of California and Florida -- as buyers fail to secure financing, exacerbating the glut of homes, Mr. Baker said.

No wonder that in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix and Las Vegas, house prices have in recent months declined at annual rates of more than 33 percent.

When Will Banks Revive?

So far, they have written off more than $300 billion in loans. Many experts now predict the toll will rise to $1 trillion or more -- a staggering sum that could cripple many institutions for years.

Back when home prices were multiplying, banks poured oceans of borrowed money into real estate loans. Unlike the dot-com companies at the heart of the last speculative investment bubble, the new gold rush was centered on something that seemed unimpeachably solid -- the American home.

Economic slowdowns always mean job losses. Unemployment already has risen, and almost certainly will increase more.

The first signs of distress emerged in housing. Construction companies, real estate agencies, mortgage brokers and banks began laying people off. Next, jobs started being cut at factories making products linked to housing, from carpets and furniture to lighting and flooring.
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But as the real estate bust spilled over into the broader economy, depleting household wealth, the impacts rippled out to retailers, beauty parlors, law offices and trucking companies, inflicting cutbacks throughout the economy, save for health care, farming and energy. Over the last six months, the economy has shed 485,000 private sector jobs, according to the Labor Department. Many people have seen hours reduced.

The unemployment rate still remains low by historical standards, at 5.5 percent. And so far, the job losses -- about 65,000 a month this year -- do not approach the magnitude of those seen in past downturns, particularly the twin recessions at the beginning of the 1980s, when the economy shed upward of 140,000 jobs a month and the unemployment rate exceeded 10 percent.

But Goldman Sachs assumes unemployment will reach 6.5 percent by the end of 2009, which translates into several hundred thousand more Americans out of work.

These losses are landing on top of what was, for most Americans, a remarkably weak period of expansion. From 1992 to 2000 -- as the technology boom catalyzed spending and hiring -- the economy added more than 22 million private sector jobs. Over the last eight years, only 5 million new jobs have been added.

The loss of work is hitting Americans along with an assortment of troubles -- gasoline prices in excess of $4 a gallon, over all inflation of about 5 percent, and declining wages.

"In every dimension, people are worse off than they were," said Mr. Roubini, the New York University economist.

Are Consumers Done?

That is a major worry.

The fate of the economy now rests on the shoulders of the American consumer, whose spending amounts to 70 percent of all economic activity.

When people go to the mall and buy televisions and eat out, their money circulates through the economy. When they tighten their belts, austerity ripples out and chokes growth.

Through the years of the housing boom, many Americans came to treat their homes like automated teller machines that never required a deposit. They harvested cash through sales, second mortgages and home equity lines of credit -- an artery of finance that reached $840 billion a year from 2004 to 2006, according to work by the economists James Kennedy and Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chairman. That allowed Americans to live far in excess of what they brought home from work.

But by the first three months of this year, that flow had constricted to an annual rate of about $200 billion.

Average household debt has swelled to 120 percent of annual income, up from 60 percent in 1984, according to the Federal Reserve.

And now the banks are turning off the credit taps.

"Credit is going to remain tight for a time potentially measured in years," said Mr. Tilton, the Goldman Sachs economist.

This is the landscape that has so many economists convinced that consumer spending must dip, putting the squeeze on the economy for several years.

"The question is, will it get as bad as the 1970s?" asked Mr. Rogoff, recalling an era of spiking gas prices and double-digit inflation.

Long term, Americans may have no choice but to spend less, save more and reduce debts -- in short, to live within their means.

"We're getting a lot of the adjustment and it hurts," said Kristin Forbes, a former member of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush, and now a scholar at M.I.T.'s Sloan School of Management. "But it's an adjustment we're going to have to make."

Who's to Blame?

There is plenty to go around.

In the estimation of many economists, it starts with the Federal Reserve. The central bank lowered interest rates following the calamitous end of the technology bubble in 2000, lowered them more after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and then kept them low, even as speculators began to trade homes like dot-com stocks.
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Meanwhile, the Fed sat back and watched as Wall Street's financial wizards engineered diabolically complicated investments linked to mortgages, generating huge amounts of speculative capital that turned real estate into a conflagration.

"At the end of this movie, it's clear that the Fed will have to care about excesses," Mr. Barbera said.

Prices multiplied as many homeowners took on more property than they could afford, lured by low introductory interest rates that eventually reset higher, sending many people into foreclosure.

Mortgage brokers netted commissions as they lent almost indiscriminately, offering exotically lenient terms -- no money down, no income or job required. Wall Street banks earned billions selling risky mortgage-linked securities around the world, aided by ratings agencies that branded them solid.

Through it all, a lot of ordinary Americans borrowed a lot more money then they could afford to pay back, running up enormous credit card bills and borrowing against the value of their homes. Now comes the day of reckoning.

Tom has bedded down every eligible beauty in NYC, except his beloved “best friend” Hannah, who he shares an amazingly open, communicative 10-year relationship with since college. They’re two peas in a pod, with an innocent relationship, and spend lazy Sundays shopping for antiques and debating about which pastries to eat at one of Manhattan’s top bakeries, and their platonic, idealistic relationship is certainly endearing.

However, while the film is cute, its predictable, over-used plot is a recipe for potential boredom. The film can be categorized as “cliché” from the ridiculous pun of its title all the way through the story line. While somewhat entertaining, (depending on your definition of that) “Made of Honor” cannot be considered anything more than corny and overstated. In short, wait for the DVD, and rent it for less than half the price!

Do you think that movie reviews are helpful, and do they affect your decision making to either "see" or "not see" a movie?

Artist hanged herself after aborting her twins

Last Updated: 12:23pm GMT 24/02/2008

An artist killed herself after aborting her twins when she was eight weeks pregnant, leaving a note saying: "I should never have had an abortion. I see now I would have been a good mum."
# Cardinal's aide 'pushed me to abortion'
# Andrew McKie: The Abortion Act is not working as intended
# Catholic hospital bans abortion referrals

Emma Beck was found hanging at her home in Helston, Cornwall, on Feb 1 2007. She was declared dead early the following day - her 31st birthday.
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Her suicide note read: "I told everyone I didn't want to do it, even at the hospital. I was frightened, now it is too late. I died when my babies died. I want to be with my babies: they need me, no-one else does."

The inquest at Truro City Hall heard that Miss Beck had split up with her boyfriend, referred to as "Ben" after he "reacted badly" to the pregnancy.

She saw her GP before the termination, but missed an appointment at a hospital in Penzance. She then cancelled, but later turned up to an appointment at a clinic at Royal Cornwall Hospital in Treliske. The counsellor was on holiday so a doctor referred Miss Beck to a pregnancy counselling telephone service eight days before carrying out the abortion when she was eight weeks pregnant, the inquest heard.

The coroner, Dr Emma Carlyon, ordered that the identities of the doctor who performed the abortion and her lead consultant be kept secret.

The inquest heard that Sylvia Beck, the victim's mother, wrote to the hospital after her daughter's death, saying: "I want to know why she was not given the opportunity to see a counsellor.

"She was only going ahead with the abortion because her boyfriend did not want the twins.

"I believe this is what led Emma to take her own life - she could not live with what she had done."

The doctor said: "I discussed Emma's situation with her, and wrote on the form, 'Unsupported, lives alone, ex-partner aware'.

"It is normal practice to give a woman the number for telephone counselling when a counsellor is not available.

"I am satisfied that everything was done to make sure that Emma consented to the operation.

She added: "We have since appointed more counsellors so there is more holiday cover."

Katie Gibbs, Miss Beck's GP, told the hearing: "She was extremely distressed by the abortion procedure, and I didn't think she ever came to terms with it.

"She had a long history of anxiety and depression. Despite my best efforts, she was not willing to see a counsellor after the termination."

Her boss at the clinic, said: "The time that can be given to a woman by a counsellor is limited in a busy hospital.

"I am satisfied everything was done to make sure Emma was consenting to surgery. I don't feel there was any gap in the counselling service.

"There were lots of individuals who would be alert to any doubts. The comments made by Emma's mother are not about a doctor I recognise."

Mrs Beck told the court: "Emma was considered a talented artist, and sold a number of paintings.

"She was pleased when she became pregnant, but Ben reacted badly to the news."

Recording a verdict of suicide, Dr Carlyon said: "It is clear that a termination can have a profound effect on a woman's life.

"But I am reassured by the evidence of the doctors here."

Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright

DAILY NEWS

Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Bacteria crawling on fountains and workout mats at city's gyms

By christina boyle
daily news staff writer

Monday, February 11th 2008, 4:00 AM
Daily News

Dangerous germs lurking around city gyms may be making you sick, the Daily News has found.

A News spot check of health clubs - including several of the city's most expensive gyms - uncovered potentially harmful bacteria lingering all over exercise mats, bicycles, drinking fountains and other surfaces.

The germs could easily make you ill - especially if you're rundown, elderly or have a compromised immune system, experts said.

The equipment posing the highest risks are cardiovascular machines used by many people in quick succession and equipment, including dumbbells or mats, that are passed around.

"I believe it," said Alex Marquez, 34, from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, who ended up taking antibiotics in a hospital after his foot swelled from an infection doctors said was caught at the gym.

"They told me I probably got it when I stepped on the wet floor getting out of the shower," he said. "First my foot was itching and scratching made a cut so the infection got into the blood.

"Now when I come out the shower I wear slippers. It wasn't fun. You've got to realize that everybody uses the equipment, and you don't know where they've been."

The News swabbed stationary bicycles, mats that gymgoers use to stretch out after a sweaty workout and drinking fountains at branches of Crunch, Dolphin Fitness, Equinox, New York Sports Club and the YMCA in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

The News took the swabs to EMSL Laboratories where they were tested for various bacteria and MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant staph infection known as the superbug.

The lab results show no matter how much you pay for your gym membership, you cannot escape the germs.

No traces of the superbug were found, but the tests discovered bacteria from soil, dairy products and, most prevalent, from the human body - with germs from the respiratory system, skin and feces.

Fecal bacteria, such as ewingella americana and brevundimonas diminuta, were lurking in samples taken from a mat and water fountain at a Crunch Fitness in midtown. A type of intestinal bacteria, serratia odorifera, were found on a mat at the Dodge YMCA gym in Brooklyn.

Bacteria from soil, which could cause conjunctivitis, were found on a water fountain at a Dolphin gym in Astoria, Queens.

"You have found representative organisms that come from three body sites of humans, which is where you find most of the bacteria in people, and transmitting organisms from people to other people is the way that you can get sick," said NYU microbiologist Dr. Philip Tierno.

"You can just as likely find pathogenic types."

The lab results did not find any pathogens but, previous tests of gym equipment by Tierno, the author of "The Secret Life of Germs," discovered the germs staph aureus, klebsiella, enterobacter and E. coli, which can cause serious illnesses.

"I did get sick the other day, and I thought I caught something at the gym because it was the last place I had been," said Christopher Gonzalez, 28, from downtown Brooklyn. "I don't use the showers or bathrooms, I go straight home."

Other gymgoers said the benefits of using the gym outweigh the risks and were not deterred by the findings.

"I wear gloves every time I work out so the machines are not so slippery, and also for hygiene," said Chandra Rahim, 36, from Chelsea. "I don't worry about it because it's healthy to go to the gym.

"I see them clean the equipment and I never think about getting sick. I live in New York - there are germs everywhere."

The gyms also said they work hard to ensure clubs are as clean as possible.

Machines and locker rooms are wiped down each day, and sanitation stations are provided so members can clean surfaces after each use. Towels are laundered at high temperatures to kill all bacteria.

"A clean, safe and healthy environment for our members and guests is as important as the programs and services we offer," said YMCA spokesman Kevin Shermach.

cboyle@nydailynews.com
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Discuss this Article

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5 To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size . However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal,Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastrointestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruit help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetable s 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, a and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrefied and leads to more toxic build-up.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted anted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, resentment, and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL , U S A

1. No plastic containers in micro.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well.

Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer.
Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies.
Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic.

Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers.

This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else.

Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in t he paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.