we should never capitulate to oppression
|
Posted:Jan 21, 2006 8:06 pm
Last Updated:Mar 5, 2006 9:29 pm 1128 Views
|
You know what he is saying is right on the money,
Belafonte Continues Tirade Against Bush
Entertainer and human rights activist Harry Belafonte speaks during a press conference at the Arts Presenters Members Conference in New York, Saturday, Jan. SHIHO FUKADABy VERENA DOBNIK (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
January 21, 2006 6:47 PM EST
NEW YORK - Entertainer Harry Belafonte, one of the Bush administration's harshest critics, compared the Homeland Security Department to the Nazi Gestapo on Saturday and attacked the president as a liar.
"We've come to this dark time in which the new Gestapo of Homeland Security lurks here, where citizens are having their rights suspended," Belafonte said in a speech to the annual meeting of the Arts Presenters Members Conference.
"You can be arrested and not charged. You can be arrested and have no right to counsel," said Belafonte.
Belafonte's remarks on Saturday - part of a 45-minute speech on the role of the arts in a politically changing world - were greeted with a roaring standing ovation from an audience which included singer Peter Yarrow of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, and members of the arts community from several dozen countries.
Messages seeking comments from Homeland Security and White House officials were not immediately returned.
He had called President Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" during a trip to Venezuela two weeks ago. Belafonte, 78, made that comment after a meeting with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
The Harlem-born Belafonte, who was raised in Jamaica, said his activism was inspired by an impoverished mother "who imbued in me that we should never capitulate to oppression."
He acknowledged that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks demanded a reaction by the United States, but said the policies of the Bush administration were not the right response.
"Fascism is fascism. Terrorism is terrorism. Oppression is oppression," said Belafonte, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Bush, he said, rose to power "somewhat dubiously and ... then lies to the people of this nation, misleads them, misinstructs, and then sends off hundreds of thousands of our own boys and girls to a foreign land that has not aggressed against us."
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
Seniors--going to the dogs
|
Posted:Jan 16, 2006 8:48 am
Last Updated:Mar 5, 2006 9:29 pm 1198 Views
|
I love dogs, cats are not my thing.
Study: Alone Time With Dogs Helps Seniors
By CHERYL WITTENAUER (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
January 15, 2006 8:44 AM EST
ST. LOUIS - Dogs apparently need no help lifting the spirits of lonely people. A St. Louis study has found that nursing home residents felt much less lonely after spending time alone with a than when other people joined in the visit. The residents shared their problems and story in "intimate conversations" with the visiting dog, researchers said.
"It was a pretty surprising finding," said Dr. William Banks of Saint Louis University, who co-authored the study with his wife, Marian Banks, a postdoctoral fellow in nursing at Washington University at the time.
"They were happier with the one-on-one ... bonding with the animal. It suggests human interaction is not value-added, and might be slightly detrimental."
Residents at three St. Louis nursing homes who said they wanted visits were divided into two groups. One group received one-on-one visits with a dog; the other group shared the visitor with several other residents.
Researchers suspected the visiting would prompt socialization - and reduce loneliness - but the residents who shared visits with other people reported only slightly less loneliness. The big winners were the residents who had exclusive visits with dogs. Their loneliness decreased substantially.
The research will be published in the March issue of Anthrozoos.
"The study also found that the loneliest individuals benefited the most from visits with dogs," William Banks said.
An earlier phase of the study, conducted by Marian Banks in Mississippi in 1997, found that nursing home residents who received one to three visits a week had substantial decreases in loneliness, as measured in a psychological test instrument known as the UCLA loneliness scale. Those without visits had no change in loneliness.
The next phase of the study, at Saint Louis University, will look at whether robotic dogs popular in Japan have a similar effect on lonely seniors. Researchers will measure both residents' loneliness and ability to attach to the robotic dog.
Marian Banks said a Japanese study showed that the robotic dog, Aibo, elicited smiles from Alzheimer's patients.
Marian Banks said she used an academic mentor's golden retriever to conduct the first phase of the study in Mississippi.
But for the second and third studies in St. Louis, she's used Sparky, a mixed-breed she found four years ago in the alley behind her house.
She said his sweet disposition won her over, and she adopted and trained him. She said Sparky sits next to nursing home residents on their bed, listens to their stories, and lets them groom him.
"He sits there very nonjudgmental," she said.
"When they go to a nursing home, they lose all their possessions. They need to belong, love and be accepted. The gives unconditional love. They say the most incredible things in the presence of a dog."
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
Cow named Whiskey
|
Posted:Jan 14, 2006 7:46 pm
Last Updated:Mar 5, 2006 9:29 pm 1158 Views
|
sharing this with us:
The 98-year-old Mother Superior was dying. The nuns gathered
around her bed trying to make her last journey comfortable. They
gave her some warm milk to drink but she refused. One of the
nuns took the glass back to the kitchen. Remembering a bottle
of whiskey received as a gift the previous Christmas, she opened
and poured a generous amount into the warm milk.
Back at Mother Superior's bed, she held the glass to her lips.
Mother drank a bit, then a bit more and before they knew it, she
had drunk the whole glass down to the last drop. "Mother," the
nuns asked with earnest, "please give us some wisdom before
you die."
Mother Superior raised herself up in bed and with a very pious look
on her face said, "Don't ever sell that cow."
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
fluorescent green pigs
|
Posted:Jan 12, 2006 10:14 pm
Last Updated:Mar 5, 2006 9:29 pm 1284 Views
|
I know I losing it now, I am soon to give up for this is too much to take
Do you like eggs and[colorgreen] green ham?
Thursday January 12, 2006
1 hour, 44 minutes ago
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan, home to the world's first transgenic glowing fish, has successfully bred fluorescent green pigs that researchers hope will boost the island's stem cell research, a professor said Thursday.
By injecting fluorescent green protein into embryonic pigs, a research team at the island's leading National Taiwan University managed to breed three male transgenic pigs, said professor Wu Shinn-Chih of the university's Institute and Department of Animal Science and Technology.
"There are partially fluorescent green pigs elsewhere, but ours are the only ones in the world that are green from inside out. Even their hearts and internal organs are green," Wu said on Thursday.
The transgenic pigs, commonly used to study human diseases, would help researchers monitor and trace changes of the tissues during the physical development, Wu said.
In 2003, a Taiwan company began selling the world's first genetically engineered fish, sparking protests by environmentalists who said the fluorescent green fish posed a threat to the earth's ecosystem.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
Anchor Newscasters-Naked
|
Posted:Jan 12, 2006 8:09 pm
Last Updated:Mar 5, 2006 9:29 pm 1697 Views
|
Naked News breaking in Japan market By Julian Ryall
Wed Jan 11, 9:52 AM ET
TOKYO (Hollywood Reporter) - Naked News, which features anchors and reporters who disrobe during newscasts, launched its risque take on current affairs in Japan Tuesday.
Since making its debut in Canada in 1999, Naked News has become available via the Internet, television and mobile phones in North America, Australia and Europe.
Beneath a banner proclaiming Naked News as "The program with nothing to hide," Sunrise Corp. CEO Takuya Uchikawa described the service as "a unique concept for the Japanese market."
Sunrise, which specializes in sales of goods and services via the Internet, and Naked News owner eGalaxy Multimedia have set a target of 10,000 mobile subscribers in the first year.
"We would not have dared to come to Japan unless we were convinced that there was a definite market, and we now see there is a massive market here, we have a partner that understands that market and the technological skills to provide an enjoyable product," eGalaxy Multimedia Inc. CEO David Warga said.
"We believe there is a huge untapped market for the right kind of information if it was properly packaged," Warga said. "So we created a news-entertainment program in which women, and later men, informed while removing their clothing."
The service initially will be news that is provided for Naked News' existing markets but with Japanese subtitles. The plan is eventually to produce content in Japan that will appeal to a larger percentage of the population.
Another area being tested concerns the degree of nudity of the presenters. Initially, newscasters will strip to their underwear, but Uchikawa indicated that he hopes to be able to see how far Japanese obscenity broadcasting laws can be bent before they are broken.
Canadian-born presenter Lily Kwan has been peeling off her work clothes for five years and described the experience as "liberating."
"I love being able to go out onto the streets and take my clothes off," she said. "While we have been in Tokyo, people have been very surprised to see us with no tops on, but they're very happy and interested in talking to us."
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
Remember Levis??? Kiss 'em Goodbye!!
|
Posted:Jan 11, 2006 7:33 pm
Last Updated:Mar 5, 2006 9:29 pm 1362 Views
|
Remember when Levi's were the only thing to wear and were made here at home in the good 'ol US of A? Well not anymore, the last plant has closed and moved! Whats next folks? Now China will be selling their cars here in two years (see Detroit Auto show)God forbid and save us all!!!!
Levi makes iPod controlling jeans
Levi's forthcoming jeans will come with an iPod remote control
Denim giant Levi Strauss has designed a pair of jeans able to control a wearer's Apple iPod music player.
The RedWire DLX Jeans will have an iPod remote control and docking station fitted in its pockets, and comes complete with attached headphones.
To be launched in August, the jeans will cost approximately $200 (£114).
Levi Strauss is not the first to produce iPod-compatible clothing, but it is believed to be the first to do so for trousers or jeans.
No pictures have yet been revealed of the RedWire DLX, or details of how exactly the owner will be able to wash them.
iPod industry
About 42 million iPods have been sold so far, fuelling the creation of a burgeoning global accessories industry including everything from simple covers to torches and radio transmitters.
Apple has sold about 42 million iPods to date
Outdoor clothing company Burton Snowboards unveiled the first iPod-compatible waterproof jacket in 2003, and other firms have followed suit.
Levi Strauss is continuing to turn around its fortunes after falling sales and higher costs hit its results in recent years.
To cut costs, the US firm has shut its last remaining American factories and moved all production overseas
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
Sperm in the streets
|
Posted:Jan 11, 2006 4:25 pm
Last Updated:Mar 5, 2006 9:29 pm 1402 Views
|
MY, My,---look at all the sperm fleeing in the street, this is so funny...LOL!!
Town May Make Carrying Condoms Mandatory
A group of people dressed as sperm cross a main avenue during a campaign promoting use of condoms in Bogota, Colombia, in this May 18, 2005 file photo.
JAVIER GALEANOBy SERGIO DE LEON (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
January 11, 2006 5:34 PM EST
BOGOTA, Colombia - A western Colombian city councilman wants to require everyone in town 14 or older to carry a condom to prevent pregnancy and disease, outraging local priests.
William Pena, a councilman in Tulua, said Wednesday he will present a formal proposal to force all men and women - even those just visiting - to always carry at least one condom. Those caught empty-pocketed could pay a fine of $180 or take a safe sex course, he said.
"Sexual relations are going on constantly," Pena told The Associated Press by telephone. "If you carry a condom, chances are you'll use it during the day. It's not going to be there forever."
Tulua has one of the highest rates of AIDS in Colombia, he said. The proposal will be debated by other town leaders and could go into effect by March, he said.
Roman Catholic priests in the Cauca Valley town, 150 miles southwest of Bogota, were fuming over the plan.
The Rev. Jesus Velasquez said it would only encourage sexual relations and ridiculed it as absurd. The local newspaper El Tiempo on Wednesday quoted him as saying, "I would have to have a condom even though I'm clergy."
Another town priest, Roberto Sarmiento, said he that improved sex education would be a better solution.
"Nobody can force someone to carry a condom in their pocket," he said. "They should instead carry the responsibility of what sexual relations mean."
Ramiro Cano, a 19-year-old laborer in Tulua, said Wednesday that the proposal was the talk of the town, and said most young people he has talked to support it.
"I try to always carry a condom on me, especially if I go to a discotheque, in case I can pick up someone," Cano said.
The proposal is perhaps the most radical in a series of pro-condom efforts across a country where 190,000 people live with AIDS, a figure only surpassed in Latin America by Brazil, according to the World Health Organization.
The capital city of Bogota handed out more than two million free condoms last year as part of a campaign titled "Use it instinctively - make yourself sexy."
In the city of Tunja, where 17 percent of all pregnancies last year were from women under 18 years of age, condom dispensers will be installed in bars and movie theaters starting in February.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
Who needs a conjugal visit?
|
Posted:Jan 10, 2006 7:57 pm
Last Updated:Mar 5, 2006 9:29 pm 1369 Views
|
Lucky dozen prisoners to get conjugal visits
Tue Jan 10, 10:20 AM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - Twelve exemplary inmates at Beijing Women's Prison will be allowed to celebrate Chinese New Year with 24-hour conjugal visits from their husbands, Xinhua news agency said Tuesday.
"The prison authorities said they will select one woman with exemplary behavior from each of the prison's 12 units to enjoy the special treatment," Xinhua said, adding that it was the first time conjugal visits had been allowed at the prison.
The prison had 12 standard guest rooms with separate bathrooms, double beds and "other necessary facilities for the special day."
But a Beijing News commentary questioned the legal basis of the move, because conjugal visits are not covered in the law.
"If the 24-hour visit is recognized as extending care to female prisoners, then the prison authorities should offer the same treatment to all inmates, not just 12 of them," it said.
The commentary also warned the prison of unexpected pregnancies.
Beijing Women's Prison is the only one of its kind in the city, with 900 prisoners. Chinese New Year this year falls on January 29.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
Damn Bike at the gym
|
Posted:Jan 2, 2006 11:14 pm
Last Updated:Mar 5, 2006 9:29 pm 1166 Views
|
Need to buy some of this,
Squeaky Cheeks is an all natural chafing powder for golf, cycling, hiking, walking, fishing, backpacking and sweat related itching and rash. You may know this condition as something else, but whatever you call it, don't let it ruin your activity!
Damn sure did!
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
Keep these
|
Posted:Dec 31, 2005 6:28 am
Last Updated:Mar 5, 2006 9:29 pm 1099 Views
|
Are you sick of making the same resolutions year after year and yet you never keep them? Here are some resolutions that you can actually accomplish! Enjoy! 
10. Read less.
9. I want to gain weight. Put on at least 30 pounds.
8. Stop exercising. Waste of time.
7. Watch more TV. I've been missing some good stuff.
6. Procrastinate more.
5. Drink. Drink some more.
4. Start being superstitious.
3. Spend more time at work.
2. Stop bringing lunch from home: I should eat out more.
and last but not least...
1. Take up a new habit: maybe smoking!
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
