News For Today

VIDEO - THE CALLING

2010-03-15T12:53:00.001-08:00

IMPORTANT - Please watch the following video and pass it on to everyone you can.

The Calling

Sandy G.

THE VIDEO THE U.S. ARMY DOES NOT WANT YOU TO SEE!!!

2010-03-04T15:16:00.001-09:00

WARNING: This video has some graphic images and language.

It is very disturbing, but something EVERYONE needs to see. We all need to become aware of what is going on. I am thoroughly disgusted!

Link to video here.

~Sandy G.

I'M BACK!

2010-02-26T15:28:00.002-09:00

Sorry for the long absence. I'm back with a site containing a lot of very important information that everyone needs to pay attention to. You will need to keep an open mind, because much of the information sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. But, if you stop and think about it, a lot of it really does feel true. At least to me and many others. This site gets over one million views per month!

Please take the time to check out this site, watch some of the interviews, and pass it on to everyone you know. If even only a tiny fraction of it is true, we need to learn all we can, as quickly as possible. Thanks!

Project Camelot

~Sandy G.

Puzzles Of The Day

2009-10-11T15:05:00.000-08:00

~Sandy G.

Alaska alerted as South Pacific tsunami rolls toward West Coast

2009-09-29T15:28:00.000-08:00

By The Associated Press and Channel 2 News Staff

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa -- A tsunami swept into Pago Pago in American Samoa shortly after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.9 shook the Pacific area.

Officials say at least 14 people were killed.

The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami advisory for the coastal areas of California and Oregon from the California-Mexico border to the Oregon-Washington border.

The same message was sent for informational purposes only for coastal areas of Washington and British Columbia, and Alaska from the Oregon-Washington border to Attu, Alaska.

An advisory means that a tsunami capable of producing strong currents or waves dangerous to persons in or very near the water is imminent or expected.

The center says widespread inundation is not expected, and the hazardous period will occur early Wednesday morning.

Warning center official Guy Urban says a tsunami of 12 inches to 26 inches has been measured since the earthquake. Urban says it would be dangerous to people swimming or on beaches near the water.

Impact across Alaska is expected to be minimal.

Alaska geologists with the warning center say coastal communities will see some mild waves -- about a half-foot in Sitka and two inches in Yakutat -- at about 8 p.m. Tuesday.

It also means that there could be some strange water behavior, possibly odd currents, and people might notice the tide sequence appears to be off.

The tsunami that inudated American Samoa proved to have much more serious consequences.

Closer to the earthquake's epicenter, Fili Sagapolutele, who works at the Samoa News, says water flowed inland about 100 yards before receding, leaving cars stuck in mud.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu issued a tsunami warning for American Samoa and other areas of the Pacific, including New Zealand. A tsunami watch was posted elsewhere, including Hawaii and the Marshall Islands.

The temblor hit at 6:48 a.m. Tuesday midway between Samoa and American Samoa. In the Samoan capital, Apia, families fled their homes for higher ground amid severe shaking that lasted for up to three minutes.

Federal experts had originally said the earthquake was not expected to produce a tsunami along the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia or Alaska.

The quake occurred at 10:48 a.m. PDT Tuesday in the Samoa Islands region.

Tsunami awareness is much higher on the West Coast since a 2004 quake off Indonesia spawned a surge that killed more than 200,000 people. Signs pointing out tsunami evacuation routes are now common in coastal California.

Link to story here.

~Sandy G.

Video - Dog & Orangutan Friends

2009-09-29T00:38:00.000-08:00

~Sandy G.

Twitter URLs Again Under Siege by Hackers

2009-09-28T02:43:00.002-08:00

By Larry Barrett, InternetNews.com

Hackers are taking advantage of the popular microblogging site's limitations to spread malware.

Twitter's 140-character message limit is just enough space for the 55 million people who visited the site last month, but hackers are now exploiting this space limitation to spread a variety of malware through the microblogging community in quick order.

Symantec Connect's security team on Friday posted a blog entry warning tweeters to be especially vigilant when clicking on links contained within any of these 140-character messages.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Puzzles Of The Day

2009-09-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

~Sandy G.

Thank you!

2009-09-25T15:45:00.002-08:00

First, I want to thank Jim Ames from UFOHQ.ORG. He donated $20 to help me out and started a campaign for me!

I also want to thank everyone that has kept me in their prayers and thoughts. It worked! I got the job. It isn't full-time, but it's a job and has the potential for more hours eventually.

I don't know if it is going to help in time to keep my Internet going without interruption, but at least I know I won't be down for long if it does happen. So please don't give up on me if I do disappear for a while.

Love and BIG hugs to everyone!

~Sandy G.

I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER I WILL BE ONLINE

2009-09-23T18:31:00.000-08:00

I just want to let anyone reading know that I may suddenly not be online. I'm having personal difficulties and may lose my Internet connection at any time and I have no idea how long I may be down for. It could be for many months.

However, I WILL be back eventually and as quickly as possible so please don't give up on me! I have a job interview tomorrow, so please keep me in your prayers, thoughts, or whatever you believe in and hope for the best. Thanks!

~Sandy G.

Bathing, but Not Alone

2009-09-16T01:20:00.003-08:00

By NICHOLAS WADE, The New York Times

Microbiologists have now added something else to the list of things too gross to contemplate: the deluge of bacteria that hit your face and flow deep into your lungs in the morning shower.

Showers in New York carry a particularly high dose of a microbe related to tuberculosis called Mycobacterium avium. The bacterium and its close cousins can cause a variety of exotic chest complaints, including lifeguard’s lung, hot tub lung and Lady Windermere’s syndrome.

This unwelcome peek behind the shower curtain has been provided by a group of microbiologists headed by Norman R. Pace of the University of Colorado. As part of a project to measure microbes in the indoor human environment, they looked at shower water, in part because in showers bacteria are incorporated into fine droplets that can be breathed deep into the lungs.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

With Soap and Water or Sanitizer, a Cleaning That Can Stave Off the Flu

2009-09-16T00:28:00.004-08:00

By TARA PARKER-POPE, The New York Times

It sounds so simple as to be innocuous, a throwaway line in public-health warnings about swine flu. But one of the most powerful weapons against the new H1N1 virus is summed up in a three-word phrase you first heard from your mother: wash your hands.

A host of recent studies have highlighted the importance and the scientific underpinning of this most basic hygiene measure. One of the most graphic was done at the University of California, Berkeley, where researchers focused video cameras on 10 college students as they read and typed on their laptops.

The scientists counted the times the students touched their faces, documenting every lip scratch, eye rub and nose pick. On average, the students touched their eyes, noses and lips 47 times during a three-hour period, once every four minutes.

Hand-to-face contact has a surprising impact on health. Germs can enter the body through breaks in the skin or through the membranes of the eyes, mouth and nose.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Puzzles Of The Day

2009-09-16T00:10:00.000-08:00

~Sandy G.

A $1 Million Dollar Reward Offered For Stolen Warhol Art

2009-09-13T02:47:00.005-08:00

Stolen Art by Warhol Is Sought in California

By CAROL VOGEL and SOLOMON MOORE, The New York Times

LOS ANGELES — The theft of 10 silkscreen paintings by Andy Warhol has the Los Angeles Police Department searching for clues, but it has people in the art world scratching their heads, too.

The paintings were stolen from the West Los Angeles home of Richard L. Weisman, a businessman and prominent collector. A $1 million reward has been offered by Mr. Weisman for information leading to the paintings’ recovery.

On Friday, the Los Angeles police said that the paintings — images of athletes including Muhammad Ali, Chris Evert, Dorothy Hamill, Tom Seaver, Jack Nicklaus and O. J. Simpson — were taken from Mr. Weisman’s dining room. A housekeeper called the police; Mr. Weisman was out of town at the time.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Puzzles Of The Day

2009-09-13T02:30:00.000-08:00

~Sandy G.

Care-Tech To Halt Sale Of Unapproved Germ Fighters

2009-09-12T00:39:00.004-08:00

Company violated numerous regs

By James Limbach, ConsumerAffairs.com

St. Louis-based Care-Tech Laboratories Inc. and its principal officers, John C. Brereton and Sherry L. Brereton, have agreed to stop the illegal manufacture, marketing, and distribution of over-the-counter antimicrobial drugs used to treat and prevent infection.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says its inspectors found that Care-Tech violated numerous provisions of the agency's current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) regulations that direct how antimicrobial drugs are made.

Additionally, it says the products do not conform to any applicable regulations for OTC drug products and have not undergone an FDA review, and therefore are considered unapproved drug products.

Under the terms of a consent decree, Care-Tech may not resume manufacturing and distribution of the drugs until it corrects these and other violations.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Video - Baby Photos Rock The Web

2009-09-11T19:22:00.001-08:00

~Sandy G.

VIDEOS - 9/11 MEMORIES

2009-09-11T00:39:00.001-08:00

Workers Trying To Escape From The Twin Towers

Twin Tower Heroes

Trapped On Floors Above The Attacks

A 9/11 Life Saver

~Sandy G.

Puzzles Of The Day

2009-09-10T21:45:00.000-08:00

~Sandy G.

Privacy Plug-In Fakes Out Facebook

2009-09-10T04:21:00.003-08:00

FaceCloak lets users hide sensitive updates from prying eyes, including Facebook's

By Robert Lemos, Technology Review

Social networks are rife with examples of users failing to understand the privacy implications of posting sensitive information online.

In February, for example, school officials in Wisconsin suspended a teacher who posted on Facebook a picture of herself pointing a gun at the camera. In April, the Swiss insurance company Nationale Suisse fired an employee after she called in sick and then posted updates on the same site. Others have raised concerns about users handing so much personal information to social-networking companies themselves.

Now, researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario have developed a browser plug-in to help users keep their information private from prying eyes and from social-network providers as well. Urs Hengartner, an assistant professor of computer science, and his colleagues say the plug-in replaces sensitive information in a user's profile and news feed with meaningless text that can only be unscrambled by trusted friends or contacts. Dubbed FaceCloak, the tool assures its users that sensitive data stays private, Hengartner says. "If you have a particular illness, you might want to allow only your friends to see that," he says. "This leaves it up to the user to decide what information to keep away from Facebook."

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

LABELS: PRIVACY PLUG-IN, FACEBOOK, FACECLOAK, HIDE UPDATES, SOCIAL NETWORKS, PRIVACY IMPLICATIONS OF POSTING SENSITIVE INFORMATION ONLINE, NATIONALE SUISSE, URS HENGARTNER, UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO IN ONTARIO

Puzzles Of The Day

2009-09-08T23:10:00.000-08:00

~Sandy G.

Puzzles Of The Day

2009-09-07T17:41:00.000-08:00

~Sandy G.

Puzzles Of The Day

2009-09-06T03:29:00.002-08:00

~Sandy G.

Puzzles Of The Day

2009-09-04T20:58:00.002-08:00

~Sandy G.

Puzzle Of The Day

2009-09-03T01:36:00.001-08:00

~Sandy G.

Puzzle Of The Day

2009-09-02T00:35:00.002-08:00

~Sandy G.

Multiple sclerosis successfully reversed in animals

2009-09-01T23:35:00.000-08:00

From PhysOrg.com

A new experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) completely reverses the devastating autoimmune disorder in mice, and might work exactly the same way in humans, say researchers at the Jewish General Hospital Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research and McGill University in Montreal.

MS is an autoimmune disease in which the body's own immune response attacks the central nervous system, almost as if the body had become allergic to itself, leading to progressive physical and cognitive disability.

The new treatment, appropriately named GIFT15, puts MS into remission by suppressing the immune response. This means it might also be effective against other autoimmune disorders like Crohn's disease, lupus and arthritis, the researchers said, and could theoretically also control immune responses in organ transplant patients. Moreover, unlike earlier immune-supppressing therapies which rely on chemical pharamaceuticals, this approach is a personalized form of cellular therapy which utilizes the body's own cells to suppress immunity in a much more targeted way.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Puzzle Of The Day

2009-09-01T06:23:00.001-08:00

~Sandy G.

Puzzle Of The Day

2009-08-31T03:39:00.002-08:00

~Sandy G.

Six Hidden Treasures Challenge

2009-08-30T05:07:00.001-08:00

I received this challenge from Lizzie at Words To The Wise. The following is copied from her site:

The aim of this award is for you to share YOUR six hidden treasures in YOUR archives. Those posts you were proud of writing, and have sat in the dusty archives unread for years or months are going to be shown to the world again. You don't have to send them to 6 people, that takes too long. Just send them to one person.

The Rules

1. Take the Challenge picture and place on your blog
2. Find your favourite six hidden posts in the archives and add the links under the picture
3. Choose one other blogger and send the challenge to them
4. Link back to the sender of the challenge and New Scribbles

So here are my Six Hidden Treasures:

1) Alaska cracks down on man who feeds wild bears
2) Dating 101: Top 5 ways to meet the man you'll marry
3) Bees take over store in NYC
4) Man saves dog by sucking snake venom from his nose
5) 2-Year old pool shark
6) Technology to wear

All you have to do is to replace my hiddden treasures with six of your own and pass this challenge to one person.

I'm sending mine to Tammy at A Little Girl Talk.

~Sandy G.

Puzzle Of The Day

2009-08-30T00:33:00.001-08:00

~Sandy G.

Puzzle Of The Day

2009-08-29T01:59:00.001-08:00

~Sandy G.

ABC News Video

2009-08-27T16:07:00.005-08:00

18-Year-Old Missing Case May Be Solved

~Sandy G.

Puzzle Of The Day

2009-08-27T01:23:00.001-08:00

~Sandy G.

Puzzle Of The Day

2009-08-25T21:52:00.000-08:00

~Sandy G.

The Voca People

2009-08-25T04:30:00.003-08:00

I found this video on CheaHS@n's site Let There Be Muzik.

~Sandy G.

Puzzle Of The Day

2009-08-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

~Sandy G.

ABC News Video - Police Brutality Caught On Tape

2009-08-20T17:29:00.004-08:00

I understand that police have an extremely difficult and dangerous job. One that I would not want under any circumstances. But, it seems like quite a few cops are going a little power crazy lately. I've seen quite a few videos recently where it looks to me like they are just taking the opportunity to beat the crap out of people! Below is one such recent video from a police dashboard camera.

Violent Traffic Stop Caught on Tape

~Sandy G.

ABC News Video - Threats Against President Obama

2009-08-20T17:19:00.004-08:00

Threats Against the President

~Sandy G.

View from the hot seat: A look through the scope of a threat assessor

2009-08-20T09:32:00.003-08:00

By Brian Patrick O'Donoghue
FOB NORMANDY -- A dusty old passenger bus turned directly in front of the approaching American Stryker convoy. Just past the intersection, it pulled over on a side road.

From his chair in the lead Stryker, Sgt. Lance Roskamp, 23, trained a remote-controlled .50-calibre gun mounted atop the vehicle's cabin toward the bus. A camera attached to the barrel displayed the intersection near the bus on a screen facing the soldier.

"Firing Enabled," proclaimed red letters on a side portion of the screen. "ARMED."

Roskamp, the mission's vehicle commander, zoomed his camera on a lone passenger about to board the bus, studied him, then zoomed closer on the man's hands and torso. As the distance separating the bus and convoy closed, the VC refocused his camera on the bus windows, skipping between them in close-up view. Finding shades drawn throughout, he switched to a black and white, thermal view.

As they passed by, Lt. Col. Jim DeMoss, who standing inside the Stryker alongside the VC's chair, peering through a top-side hatch as he directed the convoy's movements, queried the camera operator about the contents of the bus, still stopped near the intersection.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3D

2009-08-20T01:01:00.002-08:00

~Sandy G.

Mac porn hackers lay booby trap

2009-08-18T03:10:00.008-08:00

By Asher Moses, Sydney Morning Herald

Security experts have discovered two new pieces of malware targeting Apple computers, putting paid to the company's claims that Mac users do not have to worry about viruses and security software.

The attacks - dubbed OSX/Tored-A and OSX/Jahlav-C - were discovered in email messages and on popular internet porn sites. The porn site attack directs users to download a "missing Video ActiveX Object" in order to view a pornographic film, but instead victims are hit with a virus enabling attackers to control their computer.

Graham Cluley, a computer security expert with Sophos, which discovered one of the attacks, said Mac users had become complacent after years of not having to worry about malware threats.

"As we've demonstrated before, and as we'll no doubt explain again, the Mac malware threat is real," he said.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Baby pool shark

2009-08-15T05:21:00.008-08:00

~Sandy G.

Survey Suggests Improvement In Jobs Outlook

2009-08-14T13:39:00.005-08:00

More managers expect to hire in the months ahead
By Mark Huffman, ConsumerAffairs.com
Job losses appear to be slowing, but a bigger question looms: when will the employment rolls begin growing again?

While the unemployment rate dipped to 9.4 percent in July, new claims for unemployment benefits jumped unexpectedly in the last week. At the same time, July's retail sales were lower than expected.

But those indicators look backward, telling us what has happened in the economy recently. What about what's going to happen in the future?

The Association for Operations Management and the Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina Wilmington have released a report that, on its surface at least, provides a measure of hope for those looking for a job.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Microsoft Blocked From Selling Word

2009-08-12T18:23:00.004-08:00

Patent dispute halts sale of popular software
From ConsumerAffairs.com
In a shockwave likely to be felt in Redmond, Washington, a U.S. District court has ruled that Microsoft infringed on a patent when it developed its popular Word software and has blocked Microsoft from further sales of the ubiquitous word processor.

The judge also fined Microsoft $290 million.

The ruling is likely to be appealed, but so far Microsoft has not commented on the judgment. The court found that the software giant infringed on a parent held by i4i, a Canadian company. Judge Leonard Davis ruled that Microsoft cannot sell Microsoft Word 2003, Word 2007, or future versions that might infringe upon the patent.

Microsoft was ordered to comply within 60 days.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Video - Did TV Host Kill for Ratings?

2009-08-12T14:26:00.008-08:00

Did TV Host Kill for Ratings?

~Sandy G.

Social networking has hidden dangers for teens

2009-08-12T01:35:00.006-08:00

Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle
From behind their bedroom doors, more than 1 out of every 10 teenagers has posted a nude or seminude picture of themselves or others online - a "digital tattoo" that could haunt them for the rest of their lives, according to a poll being released today.

Aside from the nudity, the survey also found that at least a quarter of the young people polled had posted something they later regretted, made fun of others or created a false identity online.

While teens are spending more and more time on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace - with 22 percent saying they check their sites more than 10 times a day - they don't seem to be aware of the long-term personal havoc they could create with a click of a button.

And their parents generally have little idea about what their children are up to, the poll found.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Video - Disappearing Car Door

2009-08-12T01:24:00.004-08:00

I saw this great video at Making Your Wishes Come True.

~Sandy G.

Chevrolet Volt Expects 230 Mpg In City Driving

2009-08-12T00:48:00.006-08:00

Plugging in daily is key to high-mileage performance
By James Limbach, ConsumerAffairs.com
The Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle is expected to achieve city fuel economy of at least 230 miles per gallon, based on development testing using a draft Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) federal fuel economy methodology for labeling for plug-in electric vehicles.

The Volt, which is scheduled to start production in late 2010 as a 2011 model, is expected to travel up to 40 miles on electricity from a single battery charge and be able to extend its overall range to more than 300 miles with its flex fuel-powered engine-generator.

"From the data we've seen, many Chevy Volt drivers may be able to be in pure electric mode on a daily basis without having to use any gas," said GM Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson. "EPA labels are a yardstick for customers to compare the fuel efficiency of vehicles. So, a vehicle like the Volt that achieves a composite triple-digit fuel economy is a game-changer."

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Facebook and Twitter Attacks

2009-08-10T01:33:00.002-08:00

By Kit Eaton, FastCompany.com
Distributed Denial of Service attacks on Web sites are an increasing pest on the Web, but the latest bunch this week had a bizarre, and disturbing twist: They were aimed at a single user's Web presence.

The blogger in question, using the name Cyxymi (technically СҮХҮМИ in Cyrillic) had accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Livejournal, YouTube, and Blogger. These are the services that came under a sustained, simultaneous DDoS attack yesterday, with Twitter going offline completely for a while, and Facebook running slowly and reporting strange error messages to users before its security staff managed to wrestle control back. Google was able to keep the effects of the attack to a minimum, but Cyxymi's LiveJournal page was knocked down by the attack. Apparently the user was aware of the attack early on, as a cached image of the LiveJournal page showed a message about the DDoS, noting "Now its obvious it's a special attack."

And indeed it was special. Facebook's chief of security Max Kelly, speaking to CNET noted, "It was a simultaneous attack across a number of properties targeting him to keep his voice from being heard...We're actively investigating the source of the attacks and we hope to be able to find out the individuals involved in the back end and to take action against them if we can." The question is, of course, what's so special about Cyxymi's voice that someone thought it needed to be quelled?

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Plane, copter collide over Hudson River, killing 9

2009-08-08T14:25:00.006-08:00

By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK – A small plane collided with a sightseeing helicopter carrying Italian tourists over the Hudson River on Saturday, scattering debris in the water and forcing people on the New Jersey waterfront to scamper for cover. Authorities believe all nine people aboard the two aircraft were killed.

Another helicopter pilot on the ground at the heliport for Liberty Tours, which operated the doomed sightseeing craft, saw the plane approaching the helicopter and tried to radio an alert to the pilots, police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. The warning wasn't heard or didn't happen in time.

The collision, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg said was "not survivable," happened just after noon and was seen by thousands of people enjoying a crystal-clear summer day from the New York and New Jersey sides of the river.

"First I saw a piece of something flying through the air. Then I saw the helicopter going down into the water," said Kelly Owen, a Florida tourist at a Manhattan park. "I thought it was my imagination."

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Health Debate Turns Hostile at Town Hall Meetings

2009-08-08T03:06:00.004-08:00

By IAN URBINA, The New York Times
The bitter divisions over an overhaul of the health care system have exploded at town-hall-style meetings over the last few days as members of Congress have been shouted down, hanged in effigy and taunted by crowds. In several cities, noisy demonstrations have led to fistfights, arrests and hospitalizations.

Democrats have said the protesters are being organized by conservative lobbying groups like FreedomWorks. Republicans respond that the protests are an organic response to the Obama administration’s health care restructuring proposals.

There is no dispute, however, that most of the shouting and mocking is from opponents of those plans. Many of those opponents have been encouraged to attend by conservative commentators and Web sites.

“Become a part of the mob!” said a banner posted Friday on the Web site of the talk show host Sean Hannity. “Attend an Obama Care Townhall near you!” The exhortations do not advocate violence, but some urge opponents to be disruptive.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Attacks on Homeless Bring Push on Hate Crime Laws

2009-08-08T02:56:00.005-08:00

By ERIC LICHTBLAU, The New York Times
WASHINGTON — With economic troubles pushing more people onto the streets in the last few years, law enforcement officials and researchers are seeing a surge in unprovoked attacks against the homeless, and a number of states are considering legislation to treat such assaults as hate crimes.

This October, Maryland will become the first state to expand its hate-crime law to add stiffer penalties for attacks on the homeless.

At least five other states are pondering similar steps, the District of Columbia approved such a measure this week, and a like bill was introduced last week in Congress.

A report due out this weekend from the National Coalition for the Homeless documents a rise in violence over the last decade, with at least 880 unprovoked attacks against the homeless at the hands of nonhomeless people, including 244 fatalities. An advance copy was provided to The New York Times.

Sometimes, researchers say, one homeless person attacks another in turf battles or other disputes. But more often, they say, the assailants are outsiders: men or in most cases teenage boys who punch, kick, shoot or set afire people living on the streets, frequently killing them, simply for the sport of it, their victims all but invisible to society.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Taliban Leader in Pakistan Is Reportedly Killed

2009-08-08T02:44:00.003-08:00

By PIR ZUBAIR SHAH, SABRINA TAVERNISE and MARK MAZZETTI, The New York Times
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — American and Pakistani officials said Friday they were increasingly convinced that an American drone strike two days earlier had killed Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistan’s enemy No.1 and the leader of its feared Taliban movement.

While Mr. Mehsud was a pivotal figure who held together the loose and disparate network of militants in Pakistan, experts said his death would not end the violent Taliban insurgency, its ties to Al Qaeda or its push for Pakistani territory.

Mr. Mehsud, a militant in his 30s who made attacks inside Pakistan his top priority, was blamed for the assassination of the former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, and scores of suicide bombings, including at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, which killed more than 50 people last September.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Airspeed systems failed on US jets

2009-08-07T22:00:00.005-08:00

By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – On at least a dozen recent flights by U.S. jetliners, malfunctioning equipment made it impossible for pilots to know how fast they were flying, federal investigators have discovered. A similar breakdown is believed to have played a role in the Air France crash into the Atlantic that killed all 228 people aboard in June.

The discovery suggests the equipment problems are more widespread than previously believed. And it gives new urgency to airlines already scrambling to replace air sensors and figure out how the errors went undetected despite safety systems.

The equipment failures, all involving Northwest Airlines Airbus A330s, were brief and were noticed only after safety officials began investigating the Air France crash — on a Rio de Janeiro to Paris flight — and two other recent in-flight malfunctions. The failures were described by people familiar with the investigation who spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

People To People Leaders Allegedly Drank Beer While Student Was Dying

2009-08-07T02:36:00.005-08:00

Allegations made by family of deceased student Tyler Hill
By Lisa Wade McCormick, ConsumerAffairs.com
Four delegation leaders on a People to People trip -- in which a Minnesota teenager died -- drank beer in their Tokyo hotel room instead of getting the 16-year-old the medical assistance he requested after he climbed Mt. Fuji.

That is one of the startling findings released today by the teen's parents, who announced the official settlement of their civil action in the wrongful death lawsuit they filed in the wake their son’s June 29, 2007, death.

The terms of the settlement are confidential, but Sheryl and Allen Hill are now sharing some of the details they learned -- during depositions and other legal proceedings -- about the death of their son, Tyler, on his "dream trip" to Japan.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Kepler Shows Exoplanet Is Unlike Anything in Our Solar System

2009-08-06T13:45:00.005-08:00

By Alexis Madrigal, Wired
The Kepler Space Telescope, which launched earlier this year to find Earth-like planets elsewhere in our galaxy, showed it’s open for business with NASA’s announcement that an exoplanet we thought we knew is like nothing we’ve seen before.

Peering at a large planet orbiting very close to its star, HAT-P-7b, the telescope delivered what one scientist called “exquisite” data, proving that it’s ready to start looking for Earth-sized planets in the habitable zones around stars.

Analyzing just 10 days of data, the scientists even turned up a major surprise: HAT-P-7b isn’t like Jupiter at all. It has a “dark” side and its atmosphere could be made of relatively exotic chemicals like titanium oxide.

“This planet is not like anything in Earth’s solar system,” said Sara Seager, an exoplanetary scientist at MIT.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Oregon Halts Sale Of Electronic Cigarettes

2009-08-06T01:51:00.006-08:00

First in the nation to ban new tobacco substitute
The State of Oregon has filed two settlements that prevent two national travel store chains from selling "electronic cigarettes" in Oregon. The action is the first of its kind in the country and prevents Oregonians from buying potentially dangerous products that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve.

"When products threaten the health and safety of Oregonians, we will take action," said Mary Williams, Oregon Deputy Attorney General. "If companies want to sell electronic cigarettes to consumers, they have to be able to prove they are safe."

The affected travel store chains, Pilot Travel Centers, which has seven centers in Oregon, and TA Operating, which has four centers in Oregon, both sell "NJOY" brand electronic cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes are actually battery operated nicotine delivery devices constructed to mimic conventional cigarette. Each "cigarette" consists of a heating element and a replaceable plastic cartridge that contains various chemicals, including various concentrations of liquid nicotine. The heating element vaporizes the liquid, which the user inhales as if it were smoke.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Apple tried to silence owner of exploding iPod with gagging order

2009-08-06T00:37:00.005-08:00

By Murad Ahmed, TimesOnline
Apple attempted to silence a father and daughter with a gagging order after the child’s iPod music player exploded and the family sought a refund from the company.

The Times has learnt that the company would offer the family a full refund only if they were willing to sign a settlement form. The proposed agreement left them open to legal action if they ever disclosed the terms of the settlement.

The case echoes previous circumstances in which Apple attempted to hush up incidents when its devices overheated.

Ken Stanborough, 47, from Liverpool, dropped his 11-year-old daughter Ellie’s iPod Touch last month. “It made a hissing noise,” he said. “I could feel it getting hotter in my hand, and I thought I could see vapour”. Mr Stanborough said he threw the device out of his back door, where “within 30 seconds there was a pop, a big puff of smoke and it went 10ft in the air”.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

At Least 4 Dead in Pittsburgh-Area Shooting

2009-08-05T07:55:00.004-08:00

By SEAN D. HAMILL and ANAHAD O’CONNOR, The New York Times
BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. — A man carrying guns and a gym bag walked into a busy fitness center just outside Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening and opened fire, killing at least three people and wounding nine others, some of them critically, the police and witnesses said.

The shooting took place about 8:15 p.m. at an LA Fitness center aerobics class in a shopping center in Collier Township, about 12 miles southwest of Pittsburgh.

Charles Moffatt, the superintendent of the Allegheny County Police Department, said three women and one man were dead. The police believe he was the gunman. The others who were shot are all women.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Russian Subs Patrolling Off East Coast of U.S.

2009-08-05T06:13:00.004-08:00

By MARK MAZZETTI and THOM SHANKER, The New York Times
WASHINGTON — A pair of nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines has been patrolling off the eastern seaboard of the United States in recent days, a rare mission that has raised concerns inside the Pentagon and intelligence agencies about a more assertive stance by the Russian military.

The episode has echoes of the cold war era, when the United States and the Soviet Union regularly parked submarines off each other’s coasts to steal military secrets, track the movements of their underwater fleets — and be poised for war.

But the collapse of the Soviet Union all but eliminated the ability of the Russian Navy to operate far from home ports, making the current submarine patrols thousands of miles from Russia more surprising for military officials and defense policy experts.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

North Korea to Pardon Two American Journalists

2009-08-04T12:11:00.004-08:00

By CHOE SANG-HUN, MARK LANDLER and PETER BAKER, The New York Times
SEOUL, South Korea — The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, pardoned two jailed American journalists, the official KCNA news agency has reported, according to Reuters. The report came after former President Bill Clinton met with the reclusive and ailing Mr. Kim in Pyongyang on Tuesday.

Mr. Kim granted “a special pardon,” KCNA said in a statement. It was not clear how rapidly the two journalists, Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36, might be allowed to leave the country. They were being held near Pyongyang after having been sentenced to 12 years at hard labor for entering North Korea illegally.

The pardon added to speculation among analysts in Seoul that North Korea, after months of raising tensions and hostile rhetoric towards Washington, may be ready to return to dialogue with Washington.

Tensions have been high since a nuclear test by the North on May 25 and the subsequent American-led effort to impose international sanctions against the North.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

China disinfects town where plague killed 3rd man

2009-08-04T05:00:00.005-08:00

By HENRY SANDERSON, Associated Press Writer
BEIJING – Authorities killed rats and fleas on Tuesday as they disinfected a town sealed off after three people died of pneumonic plague in a remote farming town in northwestern China, according to the provincial health department.

Police set up checkpoints around Ziketan in Qinghai province after the outbreak was first detected last Thursday. The lung infection is highly contagious can kill a person in as few as 24 hours if left untreated.

Medical staff are disinfecting the area and killing rodents and insects that can be carriers for the bacteria, a notice on the provincial health department Web site said. Authorities are keeping close track of people who came into contact with those infected.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Postal Service considers closings

2009-08-03T18:21:00.005-08:00

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – A pillar of U.S. communities since the nation's founding, the post office is facing the prospect of closings or consolidation of services at hundreds of locations amid a sharp decline in business due to e-mail.

The Postal Service may register a loss of nearly $7 billion this fiscal year in spite of a 2-cent increase in the price of stamps in May, cuts in staff and removal of collection boxes.

Post officials sent a list of nearly 700 potential candidates for closing or consolidation to the independent Postal Regulatory Commission for review. More may be added, but the current list of candidates can be viewed at the commission's Web site, http://www.prc.gov/

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Ex-President Clinton heading to NKorea

2009-08-03T18:11:00.005-08:00

From Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea – Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is heading to North Korea for negotiations to secure the freedom of two detained American journalists, a news report said Tuesday, nearly five months after they were seized on the China border.

Clinton is on his way to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, where he will try to win the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unidentified high-level source.

It was not immediately clear when Clinton was expected to arrive.

The reported trip comes amid heightened tensions in the wake of North Korea's nuclear and missile tests in defiance of U.N. resolutions. Analysts have said the communist regime is expected to use the detained reporters as a negotiating card to win concessions from Washington.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Anne Heche Is Playing It Normal Now

2009-08-03T02:34:00.004-08:00

By ALEX WITCHEL, The New York Times
Anne Heche sat in a chair while a former professional soccer player from Israel drew dots on her scalp with a black marker. Piny (pronounced PEE-nee, one name only, like Cher) of Beverly Hills has been a guru of wigs and hair extensions since he started here in 1975, with clients like Liberace and Dolly Parton. He also created John Travolta’s flowing mane in “Pulp Fiction.”

“It’s like having a toolbox I never knew existed,” Heche said, holding up a strip of long blond hair dyed to match her own that would be sewn onto a foundation of tiny braids along her scalp. Heche said she worked with Piny to create her two latest characters, in the same way she would a costume designer. “These make it easier for my hair to stay in a style,” she said of the three rows of extensions Piny recommended. “And if I have to reshoot and already have a different look, I can just take the character off the shelf. But since I’m doing publicity for these two roles now, it’s important to look how I do as these characters. I’ve learned that it’s jarring for people to see what a chameleon I am.”

And how. For a woman who recently turned 40, Heche has had more than her share of incarnations. She started life as the sexually abused child of an evangelical Christian father, who was also a closeted gay man who died of AIDS in 1983, and his eerily compliant wife, who after his death became a Christian therapist, lecturing on behalf of James Dobson’s Focus on the Family about “overcoming” homosexuality. Fresh out of high school in 1987, Heche had a four-year starter career as a soap star, playing good and evil twins on “Another World,” for which she won a Daytime Emmy in 1991. That led to a period as a budding Hollywood leading lady, co-starring with Johnny Depp in “Donnie Brasco,” Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman in “Wag the Dog” and Harrison Ford in “Six Days, Seven Nights,” while off screen she veered through a string of relationships with a variety of father figures, including Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac and Steve Martin.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

America Hears a Gaffe, Russia Sees a Plot

2009-08-02T15:23:00.006-08:00

By ELLEN BARRY, The New York Times
AFTER Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. gave an interview to The Wall Street Journal portraying Russia as a limping and humbled nation, many in Washington responded last week with a helpless shrug: There’s crazy Joe, they said, the guy who once told a wheelchair-bound state senator to stand up for a round of applause.

But in Russia, they weren’t shrugging. Within hours, a top Kremlin aide had released a barbed statement comparing Mr. Biden to Dick Cheney. Commentators announced Mr. Biden’s emergence as Washington’s new “gray cardinal” — the figure who, from the shadows, makes all the decisions that matter. Others said Washington’s mask had been torn off, revealing Mr. Obama’s “reset” as at best insubstantial and at worst duplicitous.

American officials spent several days trying to convince their Russian counterparts that Mr. Biden’s words were, for lack of a better label, a gaffe. Russia’s highest officials have kept silent on the matter, but their initial responses were skeptical.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Terrafugia Transition - First Flight Video Press Release

2009-08-01T09:13:00.005-08:00

~Sandy G.

Watch TV & movies on your PC or Mac

2009-08-01T00:18:00.004-08:00

From Kim Komando's Download Of The Day
Cable and satellite service isn’t the only way to get your favorite shows. You can access a lot of content online. And you can watch it whenever you want.

There is no centralized site where you can access everything easily. But that’s slowly changing. Several services collect shows from all over the Web. With these three services, you can have your fill of TV online.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

~Sandy G.

Facebook can use your photos in ads

2009-07-31T23:59:00.005-08:00

From Kim Komando's Tip Of The Day
You can expect to have some of your usage data sent to marketers. That’s the way companies provide targeted advertising. But should they be able to use your personal photos in ads?

Exactly that happened to an AOL blogger. While using Facebook, he came across an ad for a dating site. And whose picture advertised the site’s “hot singles?” It was his wife.

She wasn’t using the dating site. But how did the advertiser get her picture? It exploited a hole in Facebook’s privacy measures. Using the picture violates Facebook’s rules.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

House Introduces "Internet Freedom Preservation Act"

2009-07-31T21:13:00.004-08:00

Bill would amend Communications Act to protect net neutrality
By Martin H. Bosworth, ConsumerAffairs.com
The issue of net neutrality--guaranteeing the right of Internet users to access all Web content equally--has been on the back burner in Congress recently, but with growing concern about competition in the wireless Internet market, two representatives today introduced new legislation to enshrine net neutrality into law.

Representatives Ed Markey (D-MA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) introduced the "Internet Freedom Preservation Act" of 2009 (aka H.R. 3458), which would amend the Communications Act of 1934 to cover net neutrality to "protect the right of consumers to access lawful content, run lawful applications, and use lawful services of their choice on the Internet," according to the bill.

"A network neutrality policy based upon the principle of nondiscrimination and consistent with the history of the Internet's development is essential to ensure that Internet services remain open to al consumers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and providers of lawful content, services, and applications," the legislation said.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

A warning for 2012

2009-07-31T06:19:00.005-08:00

~Sandy G.

E-Passport data easily stolen

2009-07-30T13:56:00.005-08:00

Officials: Special Plastic Sleeves May Stop Identity Theft
Associated Press
To protect against skimming and eavesdropping attacks, federal and state officials recommend that Americans keep their e-passports tightly shut and store their RFID-tagged passport cards and enhanced driver's licenses in "radio-opaque" sleeves.

That's because experiments have shown that the e-passport begins transmitting some data when opened even a half inch, and chipped passport cards and EDLs can be read from varying distances depending on reader techonology.

The cover of the e-passport booklet contains a metallic sheathing that can diminish the distances radio waves travel, presumably hindering unwanted interceptions.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

China bans electro-shock therapy for Internet addicts

2009-07-30T13:30:00.004-08:00

By Liu Zhen and Lucy Hornby, Reuters
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has banned electro-shock therapy as a treatment for Internet addiction, citing uncertainty in the safety and effectiveness of the practice after criticism in the local media.

The Ministry of Health announcement followed recent media reports about a controversial psychiatrist in Linyi, Shandong Province, who administered electric currents to nearly 3,000 teenagers in an attempt to rid them of their Internet habit.

The Chinese government has led a campaign for over a year against Internet addiction, saying young people's excessive time in Internet cafes, known as Web bars in Chinese, is hurting their studies and damaging family life.

"Electroshock therapy for Internet addiction...has no foundation in clinical research or evidence and therefore is not appropriate for clinical application," read the notice, posted on the ministry website (www.moh.gov.cn).

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Do you ignore/delete spam? Not everyone does

2009-07-30T13:05:00.004-08:00

By Tim Barker, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
This sort of boggles the mind, but apparently there are people out there - quite a few of them - who actually respond to spam emails. You know the email I’m talking about - the stuff that promises money for nothing, new cures for various ailments and, of course, bigger erections.

According to a recent study by the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group, half of Internet users have clicked on an email they thought might be spam. And one of every six users has actually responded to a message they thought was spam.

Although a small percentage of the computing population, these numbers still earn a significant enough return on investment to support a booming spam-driven underground economy.

(Also amazing is the assertion that 85-90 percent of all email traffic is considered to be spam or abusive in nature.)

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Cosmetics makers are using pheromones to tweak the rules of attraction.

2009-07-30T10:23:00.004-08:00

Banking on a Chemical Reaction
By CAMILLE SWEENEY, The New York Times
ON a recent evening, an unusual experiment took place at a lounge in downtown Manhattan. Nine blindfolded women were asked to determine, by smell alone, whether any among a group of nine men was worth pursuing.

Three men had just showered using a body wash with synthesized pheromones, three had used a body wash without pheromones, and the rest had worked up a sweat and not washed at all. They then rubbed their arms on scent strips, and handed them to the women to sniff.

One participant, Michelle Hotaling, 24, chose a man who had used the pheromone body wash. “In appearance and personality he was not someone I would otherwise be convinced to go out with,” she said, once her blindfold came off. “But his scent was a factor that would push my decision to say, ‘Yes.’ ”

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Chinese Workers Say Illness Is Real, Not Hysteria

2009-07-30T10:07:00.005-08:00

By ANDREW JACOBS, The New York Times
JILIN CITY, China — Tian Lihua was just beginning her morning shift when she felt a wave of nausea, then numbness in her limbs and finally dizziness that gave way to unconsciousness. In the days that followed, more than 1,200 fellow employees at the textile mill where Ms. Tian works would be felled by these and other symptoms, including convulsions, breathing difficulties, vomiting and temporary paralysis.

“When I finally came to, I could hear the doctors talking but I couldn’t open my eyes,” she said weakly from a hospital bed last month. “They said I had a reaction to unknown substances.”

Ms. Tian and scores of other workers say the “unknown substances” came from a factory across the street that produces aniline, a highly toxic chemical used in the manufacture of polyurethane, rubber, herbicides and dyes.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

White Roofs Catch on as Energy Cost Cutters

2009-07-30T05:31:00.004-08:00

By FELICITY BARRINGER, The New York Times
SAN FRANCISCO — Returning to their ranch-style house in Sacramento after a long summer workday, Jon and Kim Waldrep were routinely met by a wall of heat.

“We’d come home in the summer, and the house would be 115 degrees, stifling,” said Mr. Waldrep, a regional manager for a national company.

He or his wife would race to the thermostat and turn on the air-conditioning as their four small children, just picked up from day care, awaited relief.

All that changed last month. “Now we come home on days when it’s over 100 degrees outside, and the house is at 80 degrees,” Mr. Waldrep said.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Video - CATcerto

2009-07-29T13:11:00.004-08:00

~Sandy G.

Landlord Sues Ex-Tenant Over 'Defamatory' Tweet

2009-07-29T12:52:00.007-08:00

Don't like your landlord? Better not "tweet" about it -- at least not in Chicago.
Horizon Group Management LLC filed a lawsuit Monday in Cook County Circuit Court seeking $50,000 in damages from Amanda Bonnen, a former tenant, according to numerous reports.

The company says Bonnen "maliciously and wrongfully" defamed it when she tweeted to a friend on May 12: "Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it's okay."

Horizon maintains that even though Bonnen had less than two dozen "followers" on her now-closed Twitter account, anyone could have seen her allegedly defamatory comment if they'd searched for her username, "abonnen."

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

MS Opens Application Submission On Its Application Store

2009-07-29T01:41:00.007-08:00

By Ed Hansberry, InformationWeek
Microsoft has opened application submission for the Windows Marketplace for Mobile application store, which is for its Windows Mobile platform. WinMo 6.0, 6.1 and 6.5 will be supported, which means when the store launches, there will be tens of millions of potential customers. To make things interesting, MS is having a "Race to Market" challenge for developers where they will be able to earn prizes, money, fortune and fame.

Today's Windows Mobile Blog post marks one of the final steps before the store opens later this year. There are thousands and thousands of apps that have been written for Windows Mobile over the years. Some have died off and others have continued to sell well. It isn't known exactly how many apps will be available on the day of launch, but it should be enough to make the store comprehensive without it having so many apps it is bewildering to users, much like trying to get a seven year old to pick out one piece of candy in a candy store.

The blog post contains links to the process for submission and policies for what can and cannot be accepted. The certification process should take roughly ten days and it is on a first come, first serve basis.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Swine Flu Diary: Caught in a Beijing Dragnet

2009-07-28T01:45:00.005-08:00

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and OLIVIA ROBINSON, The New York Times
WASHINGTON — The phone rang at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 18, jarring me out of an uneasy sleep. My husband and I had been dreading this call. It was our 14-year-old daughter, Olivia, on a language study trip in Beijing. She is usually calm and upbeat. Now she was frantic and crying:

“Mommy, I have a temperature and I’m coughing, and they’re taking me to the hospital. I want to come home.”

I told her to take a deep breath, even as I was shaking. We had feared Olivia could get caught in China’s swine flu dragnet; now those fears had come to pass in what would become a nightmare of bureaucracy and language barriers, against the sleep-depriving backdrop of a 12-hour time difference.

As a White House correspondent and former science writer for The New York Times, I have a professional understanding of international relations and how epidemics spread. My daughter and I are getting a deeply personal lesson in both. Here — as a mother-daughter journal, with Olivia’s dictations from a phone in the hospital — is our story.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Alaska records first swine flu fatality

2009-07-27T14:10:00.008-08:00

By Channel 2 News staff
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A Fairbanks woman has died from complications due to the H1N1 swine flu virus, state officials announced Monday.

The woman was in her 40s with underlying medical conditions. She died July 16 while out of state according to the state Department of Health and Social Services.

The press release did not identify the woman or state what the underlying medical conditions were.

"Our hearts go out to this woman's family and friends," Dr. Joe McLaughlin, Alaska's state epidemiologist, said in a statement. "Although most confirmed cases of pandemic H1N1 have resulted in mild illness, this is a sad reminder of how serious influenza infection can be, particularly to persons with underlying medical conditions."

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Uranium Contamination Haunts Navajo Country

2009-07-27T02:48:00.005-08:00

By DAN FROSCH, The New York Times
TEEC NOS POS, Ariz. — It was one year ago that the environmental scientist showed up at Fred Slowman’s door, deep in the heart of Navajo country, and warned that it was unsafe for him to stay there.

The Slowman home, the same one-level cinderblock structure his family had lived in for nearly a half-century, was contaminated with potentially dangerous levels of uranium from the days of the cold war, when hundreds of uranium mines dotted the vast tribal land known as the Navajo Nation. The scientist advised Mr. Slowman, his wife and their two sons to move out until their home could be rebuilt.

“I was angry,” Mr. Slowman said. “I guess it was here all this time, and we never knew.”

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Palin's resignation day arrives, future unclear

2009-07-26T14:16:00.006-08:00

By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin steps down Sunday giving few clues about her political future, which has been clouded by ethics probes, mounting legal bills and dwindling popularity.

A few things are known: She is scheduled to speak Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, and has said she plans to write a book, campaign for political candidates from coast to coast and build a right-of-center coalition.

She also plans to continue speaking her mind on the social networking site Twitter.

"Wrapped up Anch Gov's Picnic, awesome," she wrote in a message posted Saturday. "Now road trip to Fairbanks for farewell speech/changing of the guard. Camper full of kids & coffee."

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man

2009-07-26T02:50:00.008-08:00

By JOHN MARKOFF, The New York Times
A robot that can open doors and find electrical outlets to recharge itself. Computer viruses that no one can stop. Predator drones, which, though still controlled remotely by humans, come close to a machine that can kill autonomously.

Impressed and alarmed by advances in artificial intelligence, a group of computer scientists is debating whether there should be limits on research that might lead to loss of human control over computer-based systems that carry a growing share of society’s workload, from waging war to chatting with customers on the phone.

Their concern is that further advances could create profound social disruptions and even have dangerous consequences.

As examples, the scientists pointed to a number of technologies as diverse as experimental medical systems that interact with patients to simulate empathy, and computer worms and viruses that defy extermination and could thus be said to have reached a “cockroach” stage of machine intelligence.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Bush Weighed Using Military in U.S. Arrests

2009-07-25T01:56:00.008-08:00

By MARK MAZZETTI and DAVID JOHNSTON, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Top Bush administration officials in 2002 debated testing the Constitution by sending American troops into the suburbs of Buffalo to arrest a group of men suspected of plotting with Al Qaeda, according to former administration officials.

Some of the advisers to President George W. Bush, including Vice President Dick Cheney, argued that a president had the power to use the military on domestic soil to sweep up the terrorism suspects, who came to be known as the Lackawanna Six, and declare them enemy combatants.

Mr. Bush ultimately decided against the proposal to use military force.

A decision to dispatch troops into the streets to make arrests has few precedents in American history, as both the Constitution and subsequent laws restrict the military from being used to conduct domestic raids and seize property.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

NJ man regrets calling ambulance for wife

2009-07-23T19:50:00.008-08:00

The Jersey Journal
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The husband of the knife-wielding Jersey City woman who was shot by a Jersey City cop Tuesday night said yesterday police could have subdued her another way.

"They didn't have to kill her," said Wesley Brown, 51, whose wife, Martina Brown, was shot multiple times inside the couple's apartment at 87 Van Wagenen Ave.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy and Police Chief Tom Comey said Tuesday night police officers tried "non-lethal means" to subdue Martina Brown, who had a history of psychiatric problems. But she slashed two officers with a knife and left the cops no choice but to shoot her, they said.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Video - Please watch and keep an open mind.

2009-07-23T18:46:00.008-08:00

Part 2 -

~Sandy G.

Govt calls for volunteers to test swine flu shots

2009-07-22T14:50:00.005-08:00

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer
WASHINGTON – The race is on: The government and vaccine makers are seeking thousands of volunteers, from babies to the elderly, to roll up their sleeves for the first swine flu shots — to test whether a new vaccine really will protect against this novel virus before its expected rebound in the fall.

On Wednesday the National Institutes of Health tapped a network of medical centers around the country to begin a series of studies, with the first shots to go into the arms of healthy adults, of any age, in early August. If there are no immediate safety concerns, such as allergic reactions, testing quickly would begin in children as young as 6 months.

The tests, plus additional research from vaccine manufacturers, are key as the government decides whether to offer swine flu vaccine to millions of Americans starting in mid-October — assuming that enough is produced by then — still a big question as the vaccine is proving hard to manufacture. Health authorities in other countries are looking to the U.S. studies, too, as they make their own plans.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

The Claim: Red Wine Is Better for You Than White

2009-07-21T14:41:00.007-08:00

By ANAHAD O’CONNOR, The New York Times
Summer is the season for chilled white wine. But does red hold the year-round advantage when it comes to good health?

Many studies have shown that red wine has healthful compounds that are less abundant in white, including resveratrol, the heart-healthy substance derived from grape skins. Because white wine is produced with limited exposure to the skin, it contains lower levels of resveratrol, not to mention flavonoids, antioxidants, and the bitter-tasting tannins that are also linked to cardiovascular health.

According to studies, the wines with the greatest amounts of those compounds come from Sardinia, Spain and southwestern France, in particular those from the grape grenache.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Home Burials Offer an Intimate Alternative

2009-07-21T01:59:00.007-08:00

By KATIE ZEZIMA, The New York Times
PETERBOROUGH, N.H. — When Nathaniel Roe, 92, died at his 18th-century farmhouse here the morning of June 6, his family did not call a funeral home to handle the arrangements.

Instead, Mr. Roe’s children, like a growing number of people nationwide, decided to care for their father in death as they had in the last months of his life. They washed Mr. Roe’s body, dressed him in his favorite Harrods tweed jacket and red Brooks Brothers tie and laid him on a bed so family members could privately say their last goodbyes.

The next day, Mr. Roe was placed in a pine coffin made by his son, along with a tuft of wool from the sheep he once kept. He was buried on his farm in a grove off a walking path he traversed each day.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Video - The right to dry??

2009-07-20T00:14:00.005-08:00

~Sandy G.

Legendary CBS anchor Walter Cronkite dies at 92

2009-07-17T17:00:00.007-08:00

By FRAZIER MOORE, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK – Walter Cronkite, the premier TV anchorman of the networks' golden age who reported a tumultuous time with reassuring authority and came to be called "the most trusted man in America," died Friday. He was 92.

Cronkite's longtime chief of staff, Marlene Adler, said Cronkite died at 7:42 p.m. at his Manhattan home surrounded by family. She said the cause of death was cerebral vascular disease.

Adler said, "I have to go now" before breaking down into what sounded like a sob. She said she had no further comment.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Is Bird Flu Being Distributed by Dept of Homeland Security?

2009-07-17T16:36:00.007-08:00

Watch this video and decide for yourself. If this video "disappears", please let me know as I have downloaded and saved a copy.

~Sandy G.

Suicide blasts at Jakarta Ritz, Marriott kill 8

2009-07-17T07:12:00.007-08:00

By ANTHONY DEUTSCH, Associated Press Writer
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Suicide bombers posing as guests attacked American luxury hotels in Indonesia's capital and set off a pair of blasts Friday that killed eight people and wounded more than 50, authorities said.

The bombings, which came two minutes apart, ended a four-year lull in terror attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation. At least eight Americans were among the wounded.

The blasts at the highrise J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, located side-by-side in an upscale business district in Jakarta, blew out windows and scattered debris and glass across the street, kicking up a thick plume of smoke. An Associated Press reporter saw bodies being carried away in police trucks.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

NASA lost moon footage, but Hollywood restores it

2009-07-17T06:05:00.006-08:00

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON – NASA could put a man on the moon but didn't have the sense to keep the original video of the live TV transmission.

In an embarrassing acknowledgment, the space agency said Thursday that it must have erased the Apollo 11 moon footage years ago so that it could reuse the videotape.

But now Hollywood is coming to the rescue.

The studio wizards who restored "Casablanca" are digitally sharpening and cleaning up the ghostly, grainy footage of the moon landing, making it even better than what TV viewers saw on July 20, 1969. They are doing it by working from four copies that NASA scrounged from around the world.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Hole Forms in Southwest Jet During Flight

2009-07-16T07:21:00.005-08:00

Incident follows FAA inspection flap
By Mark Huffman, ConsumerAffairs.com
What would you do if you were cruising along at 30,000 feet and suddenly a small hole opened in the top of the plane? It happened Monday afternoon to more than 100 passengers aboard a Southwest Airlines flight from Nashville to Baltimore.

Some passengers said they heard a loud noise. When they looked up, they noticed that a hole, approximately one foot by one foot, had opened in the top of the plane.

The hole created a terrifying roar and immediately depressurized the cabin, causing oxygen masks to fall from the overhead compartment. The plane made an emergency landing at Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

FDA Moves on Drug Counterfeiting

2009-07-16T06:54:00.005-08:00

Agency issues new guidance on color-coding against fraud
From ConsumerAffairs.com
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance on the use of inks, pigments, flavors, and other physical-chemical identifiers (PCIDs) by manufacturers to make drug products more difficult to counterfeit, and to make it easier to identify the genuine version of the drug.

"Drug counterfeiting is a serious public health concern," said Commissioner of Food and Drugs Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. "We look forward to working with industry to help ensure that consumers are not exposed to products containing unknown, ineffective, or harmful ingredients."

The document is intended to provide guidance to industry regarding the use of PCIDs in solid oral dosage forms, which include pills and capsules, for anticounterfeiting purposes.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Foreclosures Still Rising Along With Unemployment

2009-07-16T06:43:00.007-08:00

White House considering more drastic steps
By Mark Huffman, ConsumerAffairs.com
The Obama administration is floating trial balloons this week, suggesting stronger government action may be needed to stem the rising rate of foreclosures.

Housing experts agree that real estate values won't stop falling until the rate of foreclosures stops rising. So far, statistics suggest that hasn't happened yet, and with concerns that unemployment will soon hit double digits, the administration is considering more help for struggling homeowners.

The Reuters news agency quotes administration sources as saying the White House is considering ways to delay foreclosure for jobless homeowners who are unable to keep up with monthly payments. Among the items said to be under consideration are allowing borrowers to delay, defer or skip payments.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.