SUNDAY SUPERBOWL 2009 SuperPlaces,SuperParty,SuperBlah!

Super places to watch the Bowl

SATURDAY

Big Red Pep Rally: 2-4 p.m. Get ready with free food. Show up to any Chipotle location in Arizona wearing red to support the Cardinals to receive a free burrito, tacos, or a salad.

Sunday

Game Day Meal Deals: Have your game-day menu consist of New York style pizza, pasta, overstuffed calzones, sandwiches and salads. Receive $15 off orders of $75 or more and $25 off orders of $100 or more on game day for all carry-out and delivery orders. Available at all 10 Valley NYPD locations. www.aznypdpizza.com.

Super Bowl in Margaritaville: 4 p.m. Can't get tickets to the big game? Head over to paradise to see the game on more than 30 television screens. Also enjoy food and drink specials and a halftime raffle. You can take a break and head over to Jimmy Buffet's official Shark Cart and show off your skills in the Rock Band competition for a chance to win gift certificates and Coyotes tickets. Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, Westgate City Center 6751 N. Sunset Blvd., Suite E-109, Glendale. Free. 623-772-0011. www.margaritaville.com.

Westgate Tailgate: Wear your Cardinals gear. Make sure to get your spot early inside your favorite bar or restaurant to see the Cardinals battle the Steelers. Don't forget to head over to Just Sports where you can get discounts on all NFC Locker Room Championship Gear. Events begin with each store opening and last until they close. Westgate City Center, Loop 101 and Glendale Avenue, Glendale. Free. www.westgateaz.com.

Super Bowl Happy Hour: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Happy-hour event lasts from the start of the game to the end. Celebrate each touchdown with appetizers, well drinks, Mystic draft pints and house margaritas. Chevy's Fresh Mex Restaurant, Arrowhead Towne Center 7700 W. Arrowhead Towne Center, Glendale. $3 per drink or appetizer special; menu prices vary. 623-979-0055.

Super Bowl Buffet: 3 p.m. Cheer on the Arizona Cardinals while watching the game on big-screen televisions. Drink specials. The regular menu is also available. Reservations required. Iron Works Restaurant, 17233 N. 45th Ave., Glendale. $8 for buffet; menu prices vary. 602-843-0909. www.ironworksrestaurant.com.

Two Drinks to the Super Bowl: Participate in drawings and giveaways. Also enjoy a free buffet with the purchase of at least two drinks. Copper Door, 13818 N. 51st Ave., Glendale. Two-drink minimum for admission. 602-439-3436.

Super Bowl Party: 10-2 a.m. Go to any R.T. O'Sullivan's location for some drink specials and prizes. Specials include $3 25-ounce Coors Light mugs or $3.50 Smirnoff vodka. Play a blackout bingo game to win a Freedom Grill FG-50 great for tailgating. Other prizes include hats, T-shirts, koozies and glassware. R.T. O'Sullivan's, 5830 W. Bell Road, Glendale. Free; menu prices vary. 602-938-5300. www.rtosullivans.com.

Super Bowl Happy Hour: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Enjoy an all-day happy hour. Get $2 Bud and Bud Lights, $2 margaritas, $4 house wines and a half-price bar menu. For age 21 and older. Arrowhead Grill, 8280 W. Union Hills Road, Suite 110, Glendale. Menu prices vary. 623-566-2224. www.arrowheadgrill.com.

Cards Super Sunday: 11 a.m. Extended happy hour until 7 p.m., door prizes every quarter, Miller Lite and Coors Light giveaways, a full bar menu plus game-day specialties, free billiards from 2-4 p.m. and postgame karaoke. Families are welcome until end of game. Marc's Sports Grill and Nightlife, 4494 W. Peoria Ave., Glendale. Menu prices vary. 623-842-1053. www.marcssportsgrillandnightlife.com.

Super Bowl Party: 2 p.m. Enjoy drink specials and raffle as well as postgame karaoke. Children welcome until end of game. Stardust Lounge, 4346 W. Olive Ave., Glendale. Free. 623-937-1877. www.stardust-country.com.

Super Bowl Celebration: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Watch the Super Bowl on one of 42 high-definition TVs or the HD big screen. Also enjoy food and drink specials including the Cardinal Cocktail. Come early for the pep rally with prizes and fan face painting at noon. All ages welcome, semiprivate areas available for reservation. Fox Sports Grill, Westgate City Center 9425 W. Coyotes Blvd., Glendale. Free admission; menu prices vary. 623-872-0369. www.foxsportsgrill.com.

Super Bowl Bash: 11 a.m. Penny Lee's (formerly called Coyote Hill Bar) will offer specials including $1 domestic pints, $3 Long Island ice teas and $2 well drinks. The night includes a live band. Try the football breakfast brunch. Penny Lee's, 12417 W. Glendale Ave., Glendale. $12 Breakfast brunch; $2-$3 drinks. 623-536-7711..

Super Bowl Party: 3 p.m. Add to the excitement of the Cardinals at the Super Bowl with $2 Coronas all night. Arrive early for seating. Watch the game on various TVs throughout the restaurant and bar. Native New Yorker, 16049 N. Arrowhead Fountain Center Drive, Peoria. Menu prices vary. 623-878-2820. www.nativenewyorker.com.

A Saloon Super Bowl: Watch the Cardinals game and win a 37-inch flat screen TV to watch next season. Also win Cardinals gear and enjoy drink specials. Specials occur all day. Events are held during game. Blue Moon Saloon, 16550 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria. Free admission; menu prices vary. 623-773-2424.

Super Bowl Party: 11 a.m. Get $2 bloody Marys and regular or imported beer, as well as half-off second appetizers while watching the big game. Specials run all day; game starts at 4 p.m. Lakeside Bar and Grill, 9980 W. Happy Valley Parkway, Suite 1101, Peoria. Menu prices vary. 623-566-1470. www.lakesidebarandgrillaz.com.

Super Bowl Sunday Barbecue Brunch: Noon-8 p.m. The Super Bowl Sunday Barbecue Brunch at the Platinum Room at Skye is the perfect place to be. Enjoy all-you-can-eat hot wings, ribs, salads, barbecue beef, a nacho bar and other items. Ticket required. Skye, 16844 N. Arrowhead Fountain Center Drive, Peoria. $29.95; $24.95 in advance online with code WARNER. 623-334-0010. skye-restaurant.com.

The Big Game: 2 p.m. Enjoy a traditional backyard barbecue and drink specials while watching the Cardinals battle the Steelers in five rooms on one of over 45 TVs. Tables can be reserved for $100 and include a bucket of aluminum Bud-family beers. Fox and Hound Pub and Grille, 8320 W. Mariners Way, Peoria. Free admission; menu prices vary. 623-486-0779. www.tentcorp.com.

Super Bowl Pot Luck: 3 p.m. Cardinals fans gather at a super bowl pot luck. Bring your favorite football dish to share and get ready for the big game. Watch the action on more than eight television screens around the lounge. Drinks specials are offered. Kick off is at 4:30 p.m. so arrive early. Enoch's Sports Lounge, 6750 W. Peoria Ave., Peoria. $2-$3 drinks. 623-878-6296.

Super Bowl Specials: Serve the popular restaurant pizza at your Super Bowl party. Serve 16-inch pizzas, chicken wings and baby back ribs. A side of Arizona Cardinals pride is included for free. Even if your guest list includes a party of one or up to 10, pick a value combination that satisfies everyone. Rosati's Pizza, 13856 W. Waddell Road, Surprise. $19.95-$79.95. 623-537-9899. www.rosatispizza.com.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/westvalley/articles/2009/01/30/20090130gl-nwvsbevents0131.html

OBAMA's Kenyan Connection Arrested-GEORGE OBAMA

Obama's Kenyan relative arrested on drug charge

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan police say the half brother of President Barack Obama has been arrested for possession of marijuana.

Area police chief Joshua Omokulongolo said George Obama was picked up Saturday and was being held at the Huruma police post in the capital. Omokulongolo said officers found one joint of marijuana on him.

George Obama and the president had the same father but barely know each other.

GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE Turns Into MALWARE HOTSPOT!

Google Flags Whole Internet As Malware

We're not quite sure what's going on, but a couple of minutes ago any search result from Google started being flagged as malware with a message stating "This site may harm your computer". Including Google's own website as you can see above.

Twitter is abuzz with people reporting the massive error (also look for tags #googmayharm or #googmayhem), and it's clear that this is happening around the world. Apparently, it's happening with any browser on any platform too.

Clicking the message takes people to a support page from Google (image below), but this is being bombarded with millions of people right now so it's very slow to respond. I saw the page briefly, and it pointed to StopBadware.org (which is obviously also loading slowly or not at all right now).

Update: it seems to be fixing itself. I'm having no more issues on Google Belgium, still getting warning messages for malicious software when I search Google.com. Also, it only seems to occur when you're searching as a signed-in user now.

Update 2: it seems to be fine now. Lasted about 15 minutes. You can take a deep breath now and go on with whatever you were doing before

Now we just have to wait for Google to tell us what went wrong. It's quite clear that a meltdown of this size, no matter how short it was, will be the topic of discussion for the coming days (and not only at the Googleplex, I'd wager).

Many users report that Google started to flag all search results as malware. The problem is that Google no longer links to the search results flagged as malware and it sends users to a diagnostic page. Apparently, the bug has been fixed in about half an hour.

"This is by far the strangest thing I have ever seen on Google, but I don't know if it is happening to everyone or just me. With every search I do (as of two minutes ago), every page is marked This site may harm your computer," reported Albert Rodenius.

"Google has been acting up in extremely odd ways the last 24 hours. Right now, every single site on the web gets the message This site may harm your computer in its search result. (I never knew the Internet was that dangerous). Second, the number of server errors over the past 24 hours I've run into has been astonishing; over half my Google search queries have returned 404, long before the unsafe sites problem showed up. Now, most of the time when I click on the This site may harm your computer link, I get a server error," mentioned Greg Spira, a reader of this blog.


{ Thanks to everyone who reported the issue. }

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/31/AR2009013100798.html
http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/01/google-flags-all-search-results-as.html

BAD OMEN For HONG KONG In Chinese New Year 2009?

Bad omens for Hong Kong

Hong Kong people are gloomy about the city's economic prospects for the Year of the Ox after Chinese New Year festivities were overshadowed by bad omens.

As celebrations to mark the New Year took place across the city of 6.9 million, which slipped into recession at the end of 2008, headlines on Wednesday were grabbed by two seemingly ominous events.

First, a "fortune stick'' picked on Tuesday by a senior politician in an annual Taoist ceremony predicting how prosperous the year ahead will be produced the worst possible number - 27.

Feng shui masters in the superstitious former British colony said the fortune stick meant Hong Kong faced a turbulent and unsettled year with possible conflicts between the government and people.

The last time the number 27 was drawn was 1992, shortly before the arrival of last British governor Chris Patten set off a series of political clashes in the territory.

Hours later, there was another apparently bad omen for the year ahead when a barge carrying fireworks across Victoria Harbour for the New Year fireworks display caught fire.

Black smoke billowed out of the barge as the 20-minute display came to an end on Tuesday evening and fire boats had to rush to douse the flames. No one was injured.

In a sign of the mood of pessimism enveloping Hong Kong, only around 250,000 people lined the harbour for the fireworks display - half the number who attended in 2008.

Hong Kong has been hit hard by the global economic slump with share prices falling by more than 50% in the past 12 months and unemployment rising to more than 4 per cent.

DPA

http://business.theage.com.au/business/world-business/bad-omens-for-hong-kong-20090128-7rqz.html

AUS OPEN:SERENA BHAMBRI WIN,BHUPATI KNOWLES OUT

Serena wins Australian Open crown

Serena Williams thrashed Russia's Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 on Saturday to win the Australian Open title and reclaim the world number one ranking.

The American raced to victory in just 59 minutes to capture her fourth singles title at Melbourne Park, after her previous wins in 2003, 2005 and 2007, and her 10th Grand Slam overall.

Williams, who last claimed the top ranking in September after triumphing at the US Open, will replace Serbia's Jelena Jankovic as the world number one when the new standings are released on Monday.

"Dinara is going to a have a great future. She was hitting so hard all I could do was just go for broke against her," Williams said in a courtside interview. "It was all I could do today."

Safina, playing in her second Grand Slam final, won just eight points in the first set and could do little to prevent Williams from wrapping up a lopsided victory.

"Not much to say as I didn't spend one hour on the court," Safina said.

"I'd like to congratulate Serena because I was just a ball boy on the court today.

"To all the people who supported me, sorry I made it a little bit disappointing but hopefully next year I will come back and do better."

NERVOUS START

Safina had a nervous start making three double faults in her first service game, the third of which handed Williams a 2-0 lead.

The pattern continued on Safina's second service game when the aggressive American bludgeoned winners and forced the Russian to run around the court and she broke to love.

Williams then held to love to take a 5-0 lead and broke Safina again in the sixth game on her first set point when the Russian smacked the ball into the net.

The 22-year-old Safina extracted a huge round of applause at the beginning of the second set when she managed to break Williams in the first game.

Williams, however, only seemed to get angry with herself, breaking Safina in the next game then blasting her off the court to love to take a 2-1 lead.

With the American racing towards victory, Safina at least avoided the ignominy of suffering most one-sided defeat in an Australian Open final when she held to take the score to 4-2, but she could not stop the Williams juggernaut.

Williams held with some thumping serves and booming groundstrokes to give her the chance to seal the match on Safina's serve.

Safina held her nerve to move the score to 5-3 but it was only delaying the inevitable and Williams sealed victory when the third seed's backhand dropshot drifted just wide on the first match point.

Yuki Bhambri wins Aus Open Junior title

Bhambri wins Aus Open Junior title

Yuki Bhambri created history, becoming only the fourth Indian to win a junior Grand Slam singles title following his emphatic straight-set win over Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas of Germany [Images] in the boys' final in Melbourne on Saturday.

Top seed Yuki swept aside unseeded Georgousdas 6-3, 6-1 in 57 minutes to pocket his first Grand Slam singles title.

The other Indians in the elite list are Ramanathan Krishnan (1954 Junior Wimbledon champion), his son Ramesh Krishnan (1979) Wimbledon and French Open junior champion) and Leander Paes (1990 Junior Wimbledon and Junior US Open champion).

The Delhi boy, who lost in the semi-finals last year, was at his dominant best from the start and seemed determined to lift the title this time as he broke his German opponent in the fourth game of the opening set to go up 3-1 and then maintained his composure to seal the first set in 31 minutes.

With his nose ahead with a set lead, Yuki didn't look back and demolished Georgousdas 6-1 in just 26 minutes in the second set to register his first Slam title.

Yuki's dominance in the match was visible from the fact that he hit 29 winners as compared to his opponent's 21. He also converted four out of the seven break points and didn't provide a single window of opportunity to the German to break his serve.

Yuki, partnering Chinese Taipei's Liang-Chi Huang, also made it to the semi-finals of the boys doubles event but were shocked on Friday by Russian-Japanese pair of Mikhal Biryukov and Yasutaka Uchiyama 3-6, 1-6.

It was a heart-breaking loss for Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in the Australian Open Men's Doubles final. the went down tamely to Bryan brothers - Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan 2-6, 5-7. 0-6.

Bhupathi and Knowles were completely out of touch and proved no match to the powerful Bryan brothers, who dominated the proceedings from the very beginning. They completely routed Bhupathi and Knowles 6-0 in the third set. Bhupathi and Sania will play their mixed doubles final later.

http://www.rediff.com/sports/2009/jan/31serena-wins-australian-open-crown.htm
http://specials.rediff.com/sports/2009/jan/31sld1-yuki-bhambri-wins-aus-open-junior-title.htm
http://www.breakingnewsonline.net/2009/01/bhupathi-knowles-lose-in-australian.html

Welcome The FIRST GAY HEAD OF STATE in ICELAND!

The First Gay Head of State

Posted by Dominic Holden on Wed, Jan 28 at 6:12 PM

Please welcome the first (openly) gay head of state, Johanna Sigurdardottir. Of course, she will only run an interim government for a bankrupt nation with a population of 300,000—but you've got to start somewhere. And that somewhere is Iceland:

The first government collapse of the global economic crisis is about to yield the world's first openly-gay leader. Johanna Sigurdardottir, a former air hostess, is expected to be sworn in as Iceland's Prime Minister by the end of the week.

Her moment in the international spotlight comes at the most horrendous moment in her nation's recent history. As the global meltdown began, the collapse of Iceland's grossly over-leveraged economy was followed smartly by the implosion of its banks and currency. Now its government has gone the same way, the first to succumb to the backwash from the crisis.

Change doesn't come until you need it most. America's economy crashes and we elect a black man. Iceland drowns in an economic tumult and picks a lesbian. Hooray for silver linings.

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/01/28/the_first_gay_head_of_state

Take HELEN FISHER WHY HIM WHY HER Dating Quiz!

Photo: Digital Vision/Getty Images; Image Source/Getty Images; Plush Studios/Getty Images; Colin Anderson/Getty Images

Anthropologist and best-selling author Helen Fisher sums up the eternal question in the title of her new book, Why Him? Why Her? (Henry Holt). It goes like this: You strike up a conversation with someone you’ve never met before, and whether you admit it to yourself or not, after two minutes or so, you know: You’re attracted to him or you’re not. If you’re single, you’re intrigued; if you’re happily involved with someone, you’re... careful.

Fisher says she knows exactly what’s going on here. While long-term compatibility depends a lot on factors like status and life history, what causes the sparks to fly, or not, during that first conversation is how well your personality types match up. Maybe that doesn’t sound terribly scientific—but Fisher begs to differ. After sifting through an enormous pile of research literature, she concludes that four chemicals play leading roles in determining who we are and who we’re drawn to: two sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen; and two neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin.

In Fisher’s last book, Why We Love (2004), she broadly sketched out the influence of these molecules on our romantic lives. In Why Him? Why Her? she uses them as building blocks to construct four distinct personality types. The Explorer, defined by high dopamine activity, is adventurous, novelty-seeking, creative. The Builder, with high serotonin activity, is cautious, conventional, managerial. The Director, pumped up with testosterone, is aggressive, single-minded, analytical. The Negotiator, more estrogen-influenced, is empathetic, idealistic, a big-picture thinker.

The love laboratory where Fisher has conducted her research is Chemistry.com, an affiliate of Match.com, the largest dating service online. She formulated an elaborate questionnaire (which is included in her book) to help clients figure out their personality type. Then they began choosing whom they’d most like to date from a list of candidates sent to them, and as the service evolved, subsequent clients received lists of dating prospects weighted in favor of their theoretically preferred personality type. And so Fisher had a mass experiment for her theories about personality and romantic attraction.

Not exactly research science as usual. But mainstream academics have been studying the effects of personality on romantic choice for decades, and all we have to show for it are two pieces of conventional—and diametrically opposed—-wisdom: “Opposites attract” and “Like attracts like.” Fisher, however, has crunched the numbers and, as she tells me over lunch, she’s got it all figured out.

ELLE: Isn’t there something discomforting about reducing everyone to four personality types based on the chemicals running through them, and then predicting who we’ll be attracted to?

HELEN FISHER: Honey, everything is chemical. Everything is physical, and if you want, everything is spiritual. My answer is this: You can know every single ingredient in a piece of chocolate cake and still sit down and eat it and feel the joy. You can know every note in Beethoven’s Ninth and listen to it and reel with the pleasure. To me, understanding the system expands my wonder. In the wild, all animals are attracted to some other animals and really uninterested in or repelled by others—too old, too young, too scruffy. With the evolution of humanity, it became more refined and more profound and led to a phenomenon we call romantic love.

ELLE: You’re trying to make the dating process more efficient?

HF: Right. The finest selective device is your brain. But we’re trying to do some preselecting so you don’t have to kiss a lot of frogs.

ELLE: Isn’t there something to be said for letting people make their own mistakes?

HF: People will always make their own mistakes. What I hope to do is enable us to make fewer of them and to understand that sometimes human nature is working against us. Sometimes we fall in love with somebody who will probably never love us, for reasons having nothing to do with us but with their own mind-set, their chemistry. There’s no way anybody is going to get this perfect, and anybody who tells you they can is a fool. But we can understand something about temperament—that’s what I’m responsible for.

ELLE: How did a nice academic like you get involved with an online dating company?

HF: Chemistry.com invited me to their offices and asked me, “Why do you fall in love with one person rather than another?” And I said, “I don’t know. Nobody knows.” We’ve known for a long time that you tend to fall in love with someone from your own socio-economic background, the same general level of intelligence, of good looks. But you can walk into a room where everybody meets those requirements, and you don’t fall in love with all of them! There’s a huge world of personality out there. One meta study of 470 personality studies ended up concluding that we simply don’t know the role of personality. So I went home and pulled out a blank sheet of paper. I wrote dopamine on the top of the page, and I took out another sheet of paper and wrote serotonin. And so on.

ELLE: You must have had a pretty clear idea about these four personality types before you created the questionnaire.

HF: The data was out there. It just wasn’t pulled together. So in the questionnaire, I had questions that would tell me whether I was measuring what I thought I was—dopamine, serotonin, testosterone, estrogen. For instance, I asked which is longer, your index finger or your ring finger. It’s established that when a lot of testosterone washes over a fetus’ brain, it makes for a longer fourth finger than second finger. We found the people who scored as Directors had that longer fourth finger. And when we ask, “Do you find the right word rapidly?” Directors say no and Negotiators say yes. There’s so much data connecting linguistic skills with estrogen. In the middle of the menstrual cycle, women find the right word even faster. When I did a word study of 178,000 people on Chemistry.com, I found out the top words the four types use. For the Explorer, it’s adventure. For the Builder, it’s family. For the Director, it’s intelligence. The top word for the Negotiator is passion. I’ve been able to validate these personality types over and over.

ELLE: Really—this has changed the way you see the world?

HF: Dramatically. I understand red states and blue states. The Builders live in the suburbs and in the countryside. They want grass and neighborhoods and to be part of the PTA. That’s the serotonin. The Explorers want the stimulation and the novelty of the big city. That’s the dopamine. I think Obama is an Explorer. He’s got charm, and the Explorer has charm to kill. The high-dopamine type is comfortable in his own skin. Look at the way Obama moves. It’s beautiful. And McCain is an aggressive, high-testosterone Director. I saw a photograph of McCain and noticed that his fourth finger is much longer than his second. Directors are who they are.

ELLE: But what type you are is only half the story. We also want to know who we’re going to be attracted to. I love that you couldn’t guess the results beforehand. You discovered the two clichés, “Like attracts like” and “Opposites attract,” are each true about half the time. Explorers are drawn to Explorers, and Builders to Builders, but that Directors are attracted to Negotiators, and vice versa.

HF: Of course, it enchants me—why does nature select these patterns? It’s easy to explain why Builders go for each other. They’re not going to tolerate the other types. They’re both traditional, managerial. These are the 50-year marriages. They’re going to have five children. That’s easy to explain from a Darwinian perspective. I can also see why the Negotiator and the Director go for each other. They need each other’s skills. The indecisive need the decisive. The tough-minded need the tenderhearted.

ELLE: That’s the cliché. The gruff, self-absorbed husband and the nurturing, charming wife guiding him—sort of like Oprah and Dr. Phil before he got his own show.

HF: But don’t forget about Director women and Negotiator men. What I find curious from an evolutionary standpoint is the attraction between Explorers. Who’s going to take care of the baby if they’re both on their way up Mount Everest, or in the bar taking drugs, or in the library reading Spinoza? But people who express a lot of dopamine, the sensation seekers, tend to marry more often. I began to see a different Darwinian strategy—different babies with different partners. That’s very adaptive, because they’re creating more genetic variety in their young.

ELLE: How about the matches that are statistically less likely: Builder-Explorer or Director-Builder? Are they doomed?

HF: No. All 10 combinations can work. They can all be superb, as long as the partners continue to respect each other.

ELLE: You are that rare academic who feels comfortable giving romantic advice in print. Have you been drummed out of the corps?

HF: [Laughs] Not yet. I expect to be, but my peers have been extremely pleasant to me. They say, “Oh, you’re working with a dating site.” And I say, “Yeah, I’m studying 7 million people.” And they stop. Cold. Because in academic research, 500 people is a big sample. And I’m also in the middle of a research project that has nothing to do with Chemistry.com. We get the study subjects to take my personality-type test, and then we measure their testosterone, estrogen, dopamine, and serotonin levels. Still, maybe some people will jump on me about the romantic advice. But I’ve always felt that science should be used.

ELLE: Some good, all-purpose advice?

HF: In the book, I say, “You want to get along with a Director? Ask him what he thinks. You want to get along with an Explorer? Ask him what he does. You want to get along with a Builder? Ask him who he knows. And you want to get along with a Negotiator? Ask him how he feels.” It sounds pigeonholing, but we have personalities that evolved for good reasons. We’re subtle and flexible—but not that subtle and flexible. At the end, I have a chapter on mind mates, soul mates. For example, Negotiators really need intimacy, and they have a certain definition of what it is—face-to-face talk about how you feel. I can’t get that from my Director friends. Or even my Explorer friends. I asked a man I was going out with, “What is intimacy to you?” He said, “Reading in bed at night to you.” So I have to train myself to realize that he’s giving me intimacy even though I don’t feel it. I like it when he reads to me in bed at night, but that’s not my intimacy. You ask me what we’re supposed to get out of this. Are we just giving the biology of these types? No—we’re trying to give tools so you can reach people.

ELLE: So in the singles bar of the future, will someone be saying, “What’s your type? I bet you’re an Explorer.”
HF: I think so. I do.

Side note: “For the Explorer, the word is adventure. For the Builder, it’s family. For the Director, it’s intelligence. And for the Negotiator, it’s passion.”

http://www.elle.com/Living/Society-Culture/Helen-Fisher-Why-Him-Why-Her

OCTUPLETS' Mother Identity Revealed-NADYA SULEMAN

Ethical questions prompted by octuplet birth to Whittier mother

By Tracy Garcia and Sandra T. Molina, Staff Writers

Posted: 01/30/2009 06:25:25 PM PST

WHITTIER - A local woman thrust into the international spotlight after giving birth to octuplets has now raised a plethora of questions about the medical ethics surrounding fertility treatments, given that she already had six other children before she became pregnant again.

"There's a mantra in the field: A single birth is the preferred and best outcome," said Judith Daar, a clinical professor of medicine and associate dean at Whittier Law School, which is based in Costa Mesa.

But a single birth is far from what resident Nadya Suleman came away with Monday when she delivered what's believed to be the nation's second set of octuplets at Kaiser Permanente's Bellflower Medical Center.

All of the babies weighed between about 2 and 3 pounds - and by Friday, seven were breathing room air while the eighth was receiving assisted oxygen through a nose tube.

But also by that time, more details had emerged about Suleman, believed to be a 33-year-old single mother who lives with her parents, Angela and Ed, and who apparently told several people that all of her children had been conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF).

The mother graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 2006 with a bachelor's of science degree in child and adolescent development, according to college spokeswoman Paula Selleck. She returned as a graduate student and was last enrolled in spring, 2008.

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What most seemed to frown upon was that Suleman already had six children before this last pregnancy.

"The sad thing is that the kids are going to pay the price for the adult's decisions," said neighbor Audrey Longstreth, 43. "I mean, I have my hands full with my kids - and I only have three."

The prior deliveries should have been a major factor in her fertility treatment, said Daar, a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

"The patient's decision, with her doctor, is based on informed consent," she said. "Prior pregnancies are relevant."

As such, Daar said, she suspects Suleman was given fertility drugs because of the number of babies and because it is much less controlled than IVF.

"In a normal course, a physician would prescribe fertility drugs if there was not a prior live birth or in the case of secondary infertility," Daar said. "An ethical question would be, `Was this patient infertile?' With her history, there doesn't seem to be trouble with it."

But Suleman's mother, Angela, told reporters at her home Friday that her daughter was not taking fertility drugs.

"They implanted much less than eight embryos, but they multiplied," Angela Suleman said.

Angela also said as much to a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous: "She said there were six babies, then it turned out to be seven, and then some of them split and they didn't know there was eight until it was being taken out."

That falls in line with comments made by family acquaintance Yolanda Garcia, 49, of Whittier, who said she provided respite care twice for Suleman's autistic son three years ago.

"From what I could tell back then, she was pretty happy with herself, saying she liked having kids and she wanted 12 kids in all," Garcia said.

"Three years ago, she told me that all of her kids were through in vitro, and I said `Gosh, how can you afford that and go to school at the same time?"' she added. "And she said it's because she got paid for it."

Garcia said she didn't ask for any more details because she didn't see how that was possible. But now, with the extra eight children, she says she's appalled because, "We as taxpayers are going to pay for these children.

"To have eight kids when you already have six is putting those six older kids at risk because of the little ones," Garcia said. "If you don't have a husband, how are you going to financially, educationally, physically and - most importantly - emotionally going to provide for an additional eight kids?"

Daar says in the United States, there are no laws regulating fertility treatments, and doctors are not restricted on how many fertilized eggs can be implanted.

But even with that "laissez-faire legal environment," those in the field "take pride in self regulation.

"The industry itself is ethical," Daar said.

For the most part, Suleman and her parents have released few details about the circumstances of the octuplet birth, saying only in a prepared statement that, in their own time, they will "share additional details about this miraculous experience."

Hospital officials said Suleman is recovering well so far.

But, medically speaking, Daar said, "It is not ideal ... to have the eight babies. It's an incredible strain on the family."

http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_11594473

NATIONAL STALKING AWARENESS MONTH:Take Care

National Stalking Awareness Month: Are you being stalked?

Crime affects 1.4 million every year

Compiled by Mary Ann Menendez - Staff Writer

While January is National Stalking Awareness Month, the time to focus on the monumental problems is every day of the year.

Stalking is a crime that affects 1.4 million victims annually. This year's theme, "Stalking: Know It, Name It, Stop It," challenges the nation to combat this dangerous crime by learning more about it.

Stalking is a crime in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. One in 12 women and one in 45 men will be stalked in their lifetime, for an average duration of almost two years, and most victims are ordinary Americans.

Victims may experience psychological trauma, financial hardship and even death. Eighty-one percent of victims stalked by an intimate partner were also physically assaulted by that partner. Seventy-six percent of female homicide victims were stalked prior to their death.

Even with all of this information available, many victims underestimate the seriousness and impact of the crime.

At first, they may view stalking as "creepy" but not dangerous. They may think that ignoring or confronting stalkers will stop them. But stalkers almost never stop, and confronting a stalker may escalate the violence.

Even when victims see the danger and report the crime, stalking may be hard for authorities to recognize, investigate and prosecute. Unlike other crimes, stalking is not a single, easily identifiable crime but a series of acts, a course of conduct directed at a specific person who would cause that person fear.

Stalking may take many forms-such as assaults, threats, vandalism, burglary or animal abuse-as well as unwanted cards, calls, gifts or visits. Stalkers may use a range of devices-such as computers, Global Position System devices or hidden cameras-to track their victims' daily activities.

Stalkers fit no standard psychological profile, and many have been known to follow their victims from one jurisdiction to another, making apprehension by the authorities even more difficult.

By learning more about stalking, communities can support victims and combat the crime.

Fact Box

Top 10 Thing to Know About Stalking

10. Help is available. Call 1-800-FYI-CALL.

9. You can make a difference. Vist www..ncvc.org/src to learn more.

8. An effective response to stalking includes the entire community. Police, prosecutors, advocates, educators, reporters, neighbors ... everyone can and should play a part in stopping stalking.

7. Technology can be used to stalk. Although newly developed technology enhances living, it can also empower criminals. Cell phones, computers and surveillance equipment are just some of the technologies stalkers now use.

6. Stalking can occur during a relationship, after a relationship, or in the absence of a relationship. Stalking often begins during a relationship. Stalkers may keep the victim under surveillance or threaten her or him. Others begin stalking after the victim has ended the relationship, and the stalker feels desperate to maintain or regain control. Still others become fixated on a victim without ever having had any relationship with the person. All forms of stalking are unpredictable, and all should be considered dangerous.

5. Anyone can be stalked-not just celebrities. The vast majority of stalking victims are ordinary people. Most stalkers are known by their victims.

4. Stalking is harmful and intrusive. Victims lose time from work or never return to work. Some relocate to regain a sense of safety. Many suffer from anxiety, insomnia and severe depression.

3. Stalking is very dangerous. Seventy-six percent of women killed by their intimate partners were stalked by these partners before they were killed. All stalkers should be considered unpredictable and very dangerous.

2. Many peoples are stalked. One in 12 women and one in 45 men will be stalked in their lifetime. About 1.4 million are stalked every year in the this country alone.

1. Stalking is a crime. Stalking is a course of conduct directed at a specific person that places a reasonable person in fear for her or his safety. It is against the law in every state. Stalking across state lines or in federal territories is illegal under federal law.

http://www.esthervilledailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/502572.html

Another DELL SMARTPHONE Speculation in Air...

Dell to Make Google and Microsoft Phones – Really?

Why so much speculation about a Dell smart phone?

Just when you thought there are enough not-so-good looking and overrated phones out there, Dell is said to announce two iPhone and Blackberry competitors sometime next month. Code named MePhone (hopefully not the final name), the phones will run on Google Android and Microsoft Windows Mobile respectively.

Now, if we are to take this rumor seriously, Dell's MePhone is supposed to go on sale on September 9 this year.

Every few weeks for at least a year now, the technology press has lit up with rumors about Dell developing a smart phone.

This strikes me as incredibly odd, not because I have any inside information that suggests Dell isn't working on a smart phone, but because I cannot see why the rumors that have emerged would inspire so many stories.

The latest round of reports, which mostly parrot a story on the Wall Street Journal's Web site today, holds that Dell has created several prototype models: some with touch screens, others with keyboards, some running Windows Mobile, others running Google Android.

In other words, Dell has used existing operating systems and (presumably) existing components to assemble prototypes that sound very similar to existing devices. And it may not even bother launching them commercially, according to the Journal.

The iPhone and Android were naturals for the rumor mills because they both promised original operating systems. Some incredible new chip that will double processing speeds but cut energy consumption by 75 percent would also be an exciting enough prospect to justify rumors.

But a me-too touch-screen Wi-Mo phone? I can see how this makes news in the financial press (Dell is a big company), but can somebody explain how that generates rumor posts from tech geeks? I suppose another Android handset might qualify as a novelty, but there are several others that are definitely in development, not just rumored to be.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not making any predictions one way or the other about Dell's chances in the smart phone market. If the company devises an intelligent and efficient way to assemble existing components and software into a phone, it could make a mint. Business success tends to be more about execution than wild originality -- but wild originality is what's supposed to get gadget geeks fired up.

What am I missing here?- Andrew Smith

http://www.pcworld.com/article/158624/dell_to_make_google_and_microsoft_phones_really.html
http://techblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/01/why-so-much-speculation-about.html

PREZ OBAMA Angry About WALL STREET BONUSES

Obama Calls Wall Street Bonuses ‘Shameful’

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, left, President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the Oval Office.

WASHINGTON — President Obama branded Wall Street bankers “shameful” on Thursday for giving themselves nearly $20 billion in bonuses as the economy was deteriorating and the government was spending billions to bail out some of the nation’s most prominent financial institutions.

“There will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses,” Mr. Obama said during an appearance in the Oval Office with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. “Now’s not that time. And that’s a message that I intend to send directly to them, I expect Secretary Geithner to send to them.”

It was a pointed — if calculated — flash of anger from the president, who frequently railed against excesses in executive compensation on the campaign trail. He struck his populist tone as he confronted the possibility of having to ask Congress for additional large sums of money, beyond the $700 billion already authorized, to prop up the financial system, even as he pushes Congress to move quickly on a separate economic stimulus package that could cost taxpayers as much as $900 billion.

This week alone, American companies reported as many as 65,000 job cuts, and public anger is rising over reports of profligate spending by banks and investment firms that are receiving help from the $700 billion bailout fund. About half of that money is still available, but the new administration has yet to announce how it will use it, and many analysts think it will take far more to stabilize the banking system.

Should Mr. Obama have to go to Congress to seek more money for the bailout fund to avert the failure of more banks, he would most likely encounter opposition within both parties and demands for tighter restrictions on pay for executives of institutions that receive government assistance.

Mr. Geithner has already signaled a willingness to impose stricter compensation limits as part of a revamped approach to dealing with the banking crisis, but with his strong words on Thursday, Mr. Obama seemed intent on reassuring Congress and the public that he would step up the pressure on bankers before granting them additional assistance.

Mr. Obama was reacting to a report by the New York State comptroller that found financial executives had received an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses for 2008, less than for the previous several years but the same level of bonuses as they received in 2004, when times were flush.

“That is the height of irresponsibility,” Mr. Obama said. “It is shameful. And part of what we’re going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility.”

The Obama administration and lawmakers have begun to consider ways to control executive pay; the bailout fund, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, would be the main vehicle for exerting such control. The administration of former President George W. Bush issued guidelines last October to try to control executive pay at companies receiving government help, but so far they have done little to curb large salaries.

During his confirmation hearings, Mr. Geithner said the administration is preparing rules that would require executives at companies receiving taxpayer money to agree that any compensation above a certain amount — he did not specify how much — be “paid in restricted stock or similar form” that could not be liquidated or sold until the government had been repaid.

Some lawmakers, meanwhile, have said they are considering so-called “clawback” provisions that could be invoked by the government to take back bonuses and executive pay from officials at companies that encountered problems.

In the meantime, public outrage is already forcing some companies to rein in their lavish spending. John A. Thain, the former Merrill Lynch executive who was forced out of Bank of America, said this week he would reimburse Bank of America for an expensive renovation of his office that included an $87,000 area rug and $35,000 commode.

But it took the urging of the Obama administration to force Citigroup, which received an infusion of taxpayer funds last year, to abandon plans to buy a $50 million corporate jet. On Thursday, Mr. Obama made reference to the jet, without singling out Citigroup by name; his remarks came one day after the president met at the White House with business leaders, including Richard D. Parsons, the new chairman of Citigroup.

On Capitol Hill, Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, issued his own warning on Thursday, saying companies would be summoned to testify if taxpayer money was involved.

“Whether it was used directly or indirectly, this infuriates the American people and rightly so,” Mr. Dodd said. “So I say to anyone else who does it, if you do it, I’m going to bring you before the committee.”

There is also political pressure to rein in pay in industries beyond banks and investment firms. The pressure reflects the substantial disparities between pay increases for senior executives, the low rate of wage growth for workers and the frequent disconnect between compensation and the long-term strategic success or failure of corporations.

Mr. Obama’s message on Thursday was reinforced by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who pledged in an interview with CNBC and The New York Times that the government would spend the remaining $350 billion of the troubled assets money “wisely and prudently and transparently.”

Mr. Biden said that he, like the president, was outraged by reports of large bonuses going to Wall Street executives.

“I’d like to throw these guys in the brig,” he said. “They’re thinking the same old thing that got us here, greed. They’re thinking, ‘Take care of me.’ ”

John Harwood contributed reporting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/business/30obama.html

TED HAGGARD Story Drags..On Oprah..HBO..Church Debate...

'The Trials of Ted Haggard': Alexandra Pelosi talks about her HBO documentary

Despite the screamingly liberal bona fides that come with being the daughter of the Democratic Speaker of the House, documentarian Alexandra Pelosi has carved out a niche for herself as one of America's best-known chroniclers of the conservative/evangelical half of this country -- in part because she's the kind of liberal who was taught that it's nice to listen to everyone. It was while shooting 2007's Friends of God that she first met Ted Haggard, who was at the time pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, as well as the leader of the National Association of Evangelicals. Sadly, there is no quicker way to get yourself fired from your gig at the pulpit of a megachurch than admitting to doing crystal meth/having sex with a male prostitute, and in 2006, Haggard was exiled -- not just from the New Life Church, but from the entire state of Colorado. Pelosi's latest doc, The Trials of Ted Haggard, premiering tonight at 8 p.m. on HBO, is the story of this very disgraced man's attempts to keep his family together, to find a job, to live without the church he founded in his basement, and ultimately, to find a way back home.

Pelosi was reticent to do much press for the movie -- "I don’t really need to talk about Ted to anybody because Ted can talk about Ted and I don’t have anything to add to that," she says -- but she did us the favor of calling in anyway. Read on for how the doc came into being, her thoughts on the problems that exist on both sides of the gays vs. evangelicals divide (at least w/r/t Haggard), and why she is now, as she puts it "prescribing the Bible"...

To most of her gay friends, says Pelosi, this documentary counts as "giving sympathy to the devil." But she seems to genuinely like Haggard, and explains, "He didn’t give really anti-gay sermons. I’m telling you this because I made a movie about evangelical Christians, and I had to sit through the sermons. The most anti-gay things that I found [Haggard said] were basically jokes. He makes jokes about gays. But he’s not Pat Robertson saying, 'The gays caused 9/11.'" When Pelosi found out Haggard was living in Scottsdale, Ariz., after his fall from grace, she gave him a ring when she came to town to visit her sister; lo and behold, he answered the phone. "This guy is down and out," she says. "He has no work, his family is falling apart, he's got nothing. And I called. I think he was just lonely." Pelosi and her husband stopped by for lunch, and ended up staying for nine hours. "And the day he was moving, he had no one there," she says. "The cynical New Yorkers were the only ones there to help him move. I was just filming my husband moving boxes, not because I thought it was going to be a movie someday. Most documentaries shoot like 200 hours. In this case, what you see in the movie is what I filmed. It all happened by accident." And fairly quickly: the footage that makes up the movie was approved by Haggard only about a month ago.

The Trials of Ted Haggard is, according to Pelosi, "really anti-church" -- and seriously, church? you're allowed to kick someone out of a state?? -- but she emphasizes that on the flip side, it actually turned out to be very pro-Bible and very pro-Jesus. "I was there for a lot of times when they'd sit down as a family and read the Bible, and it really seemed to give them some hope," she says. In the end, Pelosi became so enamored with the "greatest hits" of scripture that she went out and got herself a Bible, too. "I had to," she laughs. "Ted would be reading these passages... it was like hearing a song on the radio. Like, 'That was good!'" Most of all, Pelosi saw the benefit the book had in the life of "the real victim in all of this," Haggard's wife, Gayle. "She's one of those women who says, 'The Bible says you have to forgive, so I forgive.' It’s like, 'Honey, your husband has been messing around with other men...' and she'd say, 'Yeah, but the Bible says forgive.' Isn't that inspirational?" Pelosi asks. "Jesus would say everybody deserves forgiveness. Even though you’re gay. Even if they gave anti-gay sermons.'"

By the way, it's not just the church who Pelosi views as being unnecessarily harsh towards her unlikely friend. "I hate how the gays want Ted to say, 'I'm gay and I'm out and I'm proud,'" she says. "He's not. He's conflicted. I think there’s more than 'I'm gay,' 'I'm straight.' I'm satisfied with him saying, 'I'm confused, I have a wife and five kids but I struggle with my sexuality, I have these attractions, these urges.' I feel like that's sort of honest. And his wife and his kids are the only things he has left."

[She's a lightning talker, this lady, and there's really no sense interrupting. Take us to the comments, Alexandra! Let's hope everyone stays respectful in them!]

"Gay. What is gay? Ted Haggard doesn't think he's gay, because he doesn't live in Chelsea, he doesn't have a timeshare on Fire Island, and he doesn't dance in his Speedo in the Gay Pride parade. To him, that's what 'gay' is. So he's not lying when he says he's not gay. It's an identity thing. When you say, 'Are you gay?' you’re not talking about his sex life. You’re talking about identity. And the gay of Chelsea is totally different than the gay of Colorado Springs. There is this culture war going on in America between gays and evangelicals. It's not just happening in Colorado, it's happening in California with Prop 8. When Rick Warren was selected to pray at the inauguration, it happened. Gays versus evangelicals. And Ted has fallen right in between. He's fallen in the crack. He wants to be an evangelical. He wants to go back to church. Before he dies, I think all he wants is a call from the church saying, 'Can you please come give a sermon? We'd love to have you.'"

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/01/alexandra-pelos.html

REMEMBERING THE MAHATMA

January 30 1948 : Gandhi assassinated

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu fanatic.

Born the son of an Indian official in 1869, Gandhi's Vaishnava mother was deeply religious and early on exposed her son to Jainism, a morally rigorous Indian religion that advocated nonviolence. Gandhi was an unremarkable student but in 1888 was given an opportunity to study law in England. In 1891, he returned to India, but failing to find regular legal work he accepted in 1893 a one-year contract in South Africa.

Settling in Natal, he was subjected to racism and South African laws that restricted the rights of Indian laborers. Gandhi later recalled one such incident, in which he was removed from a first-class railway compartment and thrown off a train, as his moment of truth. From thereon, he decided to fight injustice and defend his rights as an Indian and a man. When his contract expired, he spontaneously decided to remain in South Africa and launched a campaign against legislation that would deprive Indians of the right to vote. He formed the Natal Indian Congress and drew international attention to the plight of Indians in South Africa. In 1906, the Transvaal government sought to further restrict the rights of Indians, and Gandhi organized his first campaign of satyagraha, or mass civil disobedience. After seven years of protest, he negotiated a compromise agreement with the South African government.

In 1914, Gandhi returned to India and lived a life of abstinence and spirituality on the periphery of Indian politics. He supported Britain in the First World War but in 1919 launched a new satyagraha in protest of Britain's mandatory military draft of Indians. Hundreds of thousands answered his call to protest, and by 1920 he was leader of the Indian movement for independence. He reorganized the Indian National Congress as a political force and launched a massive boycott of British goods, services, and institutions in India. Then, in 1922, he abruptly called off the satyagraha when violence erupted. One month later, he was arrested by the British authorities for sedition, found guilty, and imprisoned.

After his release in 1924, he led an extended fast in protest of Hindu-Muslim violence. In 1928, he returned to national politics when he demanded dominion status for India and in 1930 launched a mass protest against the British salt tax, which hurt India's poor. In his most famous campaign of civil disobedience, Gandhi and his followers marched to the Arabian Sea, where they made their own salt by evaporating sea water. The march, which resulted in the arrest of Gandhi and 60,000 others, earned new international respect and support for the leader and his movement.

In 1931, Gandhi was released to attend the Round Table Conference on India in London as the sole representative of the Indian National Congress. The meeting was a great disappointment, and after his return to India he was again imprisoned. While in jail, he led another fast in protest of the British government's treatment of the "untouchables"--the impoverished and degraded Indians who occupied the lowest tiers of the caste system. In 1934, he left the Indian Congress Party to work for the economic development of India's many poor. His protege, Jawaharlal Nehru, was named leader of the party in his place.

With the outbreak of World War II, Gandhi returned to politics and called for Indian cooperation with the British war effort in exchange for independence. Britain refused and sought to divide India by supporting conservative Hindu and Muslim groups. In response, Gandhi launched the "Quit India" movement it 1942, which called for a total British withdrawal. Gandhi and other nationalist leaders were imprisoned until 1944.

In 1945, a new government came to power in Britain, and negotiations for India's independence began. Gandhi sought a unified India, but the Muslim League, which had grown in influence during the war, disagreed. After protracted talks, Britain agreed to create the two new independent states of India and Pakistan on August 15, 1947. Gandhi was greatly distressed by the partition, and bloody violence soon broke out between Hindus and Muslims in India.

In an effort to end India's religious strife, he resorted to fasts and visits to the troubled areas. He was on one such vigil in New Delhi when Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist who objected to Gandhi's tolerance for the Muslims, fatally shot him. Known as Mahatma, or "the great soul," during his lifetime, Gandhi's persuasive methods of civil disobedience influenced leaders of civil rights movements around the world, especially Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States.

'STRONG' PARIS HILTON Wants A BRITISH BEST FRIEND!

Paris Hilton tells British TV she's "strong," not dumb

Hilton: searching for her British Best Friend

So maybe this almost qualifies as a trend.

Earlier this week, Jessica Alba took to her blog to inform her critics that she was not "dumb" because she described Sweden as a "neutral" country.

Now, it's Paris Hilton who's trying to set the record straight. The celebutante says she sometimes acts dumb on television to get laughs, but in real life she's "a strong person" who's been through a lot, Usmagazine.com reports.

Appearing on the British morning show "GMTV" to launch her new reality show "Paris Hilton's British Best Friend," Hilton, 27, said she cultivated her dumb blonde image for her hit reality show "The Simple Life," co-starring Nicole Richie, and it became her shtick.

"For five seasons I was stuck doing this character," she said.

"It was kind of hard always having to play that character when it's not who I am."

She adds, "I just say jokes but they think I'm serious, which I think is funny, and I think I kind of play up the image sometimes because - whatever - it's just entertainment."

http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/friday/news/ny-ethilt306016755jan30,0,6482158.story

MAHATMA GANDHI ASSASINATION DAY 2009 MEMORIAL

Prayers, floral tributes,Homage paid to Mahatma Gandhi on his 61st death anniversary

New Delhi, Jan 30: Interfaith prayers, tributes and various programmes in educational institutions to spread the message of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, marked his 61st death anniversary in the capital Friday.Gandhi, father of Indian nation, was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948. India observes Gandhi's death anniversary as Martyr's Day.

A large number of people, including school children, made a beeline to his memorial Rajghat from early morning to pay their tributes with flowers.

While dignitaries were set to visit the memorial later in the day to pay their respects, an interfaith prayer meet and devotional song recital was scheduled in the afternoon at Gandhi Smriti, to be attended by a number of school children and others.

At the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), an NGO organised a special campaign "Let Gandhi talk" to spread his message on Martyrs' day. The campaign saw students and others stepping into a pair of two feet tall shoes and reciting one of Gandhi's quotes.

"The idea behind this campaign is to make people absorb what Gandhi's teachings and his words mean. After this, we are planning to circulate a petition to the government which we are asking people to sign," said Shailendra Uniyal, the campaign coordinator.

"The petition simply says that beside the face of Gandhiji on the currency notes, there should be one of his sayings inscribed. That way every time we look at a note, we will be reminded of his teaching," he added.

IANS

http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2009-01-30/503011news.html

Singer ADNAN SAMI warned against abusing wife

A non-cognisable offence has been registered against Pakistani singer Adnan Sami for allegedly harassing and abusing his wife Sabah Galadari at their residence in Lokhandwala, Mumbai, police said on Friday.

"Sami's wife approached the police last night and complained that her husband had harassed and abused her. A non-cognisable offence was registered against him and she was advised to approach the court," senior police inspector Kiran Sonone said.

Also, the singer has been warned not to engage in such kind of activities, he said. The offence has been registered at Oshiwara police station in suburban Andheri.

http://www.rediff.com/movies/2009/jan/30adnan-sami-warned-against-abusing-wife.htm

Doubting ALASKAN MOUNT REDOUBT & Other Volcanoes

Scientists say that Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano, shown here on Dec. 1, 2008, could erupt within days. (NEWSCOM/FILE)

Do volcanoes change the climate?

AFP PHOTO/SCANPIX/STIAN LYSBERG SOLUM/NEWSCOM/FILE

The blood-red Norwegian sky in Edvard Munch's painting "The Scream" is said to have been inspired by the spectacular sunsets that around the world following the 1883 eruption of the Indonesian volcano, Krakatoa.

---

Mother Nature can sustain life, inspire artists, and mystify scientists.

And sometimes she explodes.

It looks like that last one could be about to happen southern Alaska. Mount Redoubt, an active stratovolcano in the state’s Aleutian Range, is twitching and belching like someone who just downed a case of Mountain Dew, signs that geologists say tend to precede an eruption.

And what an eruption it could be. Writing in the Monitor’s Horizon blog, Pete Spotts gives the dramatic details:

When stratovolcanos erupt in a major way, they tend to do so explosively. The magma working its way up through the mountain has a far higher amount of gas in it than in the oozy eruptions of volcanoes such as Hawaii’s Mt. Kilauea.

Vulcanologists at the AVO say the most likely eruption, if one occurs, would mirror the eruption in 1989-1990. Ash plumes rose as high as 40,000 feet. The ash fell out of the sky as far away as Fairbanks and Canada’s Yukon Territory. But mud flows from a mixture of melting snow, ash, and soil stayed relatively close to the mountain. And unlike Mt. St. Helens, the eruption didn’t blast away an entire side of the mountain.

Ash plumes into the stratosphere! Doesn’t that sort of make that 1,000 megawatt coal plant seem like small change by comparison?

Yes and no. Large volcanic eruptions can have a huge impact on the climate, but unlike as with coal plants, they tend to cool the planet down. That’s what happened in 1991, when Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted, spewing millions of tons of energy-deflecting sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, which caused the world’s average temperatures to fall by about 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit that year.

The devastating 1883 eruption of Indonesia’a Krakatoa, produced a similar effect, cooling the globe by about 4.2 degrees and producing spectacular sunsets around the world, such as the one that it said to have inspired Norwegian artist Edvard Munch’s famous series of expressionist paintings titled “The Scream.”

Even more dramatic was an eruption of another Indonesian volcano, Mt. Tambora, in 1815. This explosion, thought to be four times larger than Krakatoa’s and the largest eruption in 10,000 years, resulted in snow and frost in New England and Europe in May, June, and July, causing widespread crop failures and famine. That year became known as “The Year Without a Summer.”

Some scientists have even proposed seeding the atmosphere with sulfur particles as a last-ditch attempt to halt global warming.

Will an eruption of Mt. Redoubt produce a global volcanic winter? No: this volcano is much smaller than those in Southeast Asia, although its eruption could still be dangerous for those living near it.

In addition to spewing sulfur dioxide and water vapor, volcanoes also produce heat-trapping carbon dioxide. On average, volcanoes emit over 130 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but this is a drop in the bucket compared to the roughly 30 billion tons emitted annually by human activity.

http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2009/01/29/do-volcanoes-change-the-climate/

Obama Signs into Law LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT 2009

Obama signs 'Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act'

President Obama just signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

As On Deadline previously wrote, "the legislation cancels out a Supreme Court ruling last year that declared plaintiffs had to file wage claims within 180 days of a company's decision to pay a worker less than a counterpart doing the same work."

Before putting his pen to the paper, Obama said:

"Lilly Ledbetter did not set out to be a trailblazer or a household name. She was just a good hard worker who did her job -- and she did it well -- for nearly two decades before discovering that for years, she was paid less than her male colleagues for doing the very same work. Over the course of her career, she lost more than $200,000 in salary, and even more in pension and Social Security benefits -- losses that she still feels today.

"Now, Lilly could have accepted her lot and moved on. She could have decided that it wasn't worth the hassle and the harassment that would inevitably come with speaking up for what she deserved. But instead, she decided that there was a principle at stake, something worth fighting for. So she set out on a journey that would take more than 10 years, take her all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, and lead to this day and this bill which will help others get the justice she was denied. ...

"I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone. That there are no second class citizens in our workplaces, and that it's not just unfair and illegal -- it's bad for business -- to pay someone less because of their gender, or their age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability."

Ledbetter is at the White House ceremony.

(Photo: Ledbetter, behind President Obama, looks on as he signs the law. Also there, from left to right: Vice President Biden; Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md.; Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md. Photo taken by Jason Reed of Reuters.)

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/01/62099146/1

STEELERS Vs CARDINALS SUPERBOWL 2009-STEELERS WIN 1st ROUND!

Steelers beat Cardinals -- in pet-inspired names

A pet insurer scanned its data and found more Pittsburgh fans who named their critters after the team or its players.

The news release from VPI Pet Insurance began, "True Dedication is not measured in ticket sales or Terrible Towels. True dedication is the fan with a cat named Roethlisberger or a poodle named Polamalu."

Hard to argue with that.

For fun, VPI used its database of more than 467,000 insured pets to find which of the Super Bowl participants had inspired the most fans to name pets after its team or players.

The Steelers beat the Cardinals, 159-76 -- not even counting the pets obviously named after left tackle Max Starks, who surely inspired the nation's most popular name for dogs and cats.

Winging it

Still speaking about animals and football, the National Chicken Council wants to make sure you know there will be chicken wings available this weekend for scarfing -- about 38.3 million pounds of them -- despite troubling reports of a potential shortage spanning from their hometown in Buffalo all the way to Seattle.

While it's true that production is down and prices are up, "there's plenty of wings," said Richard Lobb, spokesman for the National Chicken Council in Washington.

Buffalo could never win a Super Bowl, but what would a game be without a few Buffalo wings?

Trivia time

And, speaking of Buffalo, every football fan knows the Bills lost a record four consecutive Super Bowls, from 1991 to 1994.

Which other NFL franchises have lost as many?

Super bites

Something called the Center for Consumer Freedom is barking about what it claims is an "irresponsible" list of supposedly unhealthy Super Bowl party foods compiled by another group.

The list was compiled by an animal-rights spinoff, the Center reported, and was designed "to demonize the consumption of beef, pork, poultry and fish."

"Super Bowl Sunday is about watching football and eating food, not hugging cows and saving chickens," the Center's director of research, David Martosko, was quoted as saying. "I'm throwing a flag . . . personal foul for unnecessary buzz kill."

Trivia answer

Minnesota (1970, '74, '75, '77) and Denver (1978, '87, '88, '90).

And finally

Herm Edwards on Thursday became the latest unemployed former NFL player and coach to join the ESPN broadcast booth, saying in a statement that he planned "to be truthful with my opinions on all the issues that take place on and off the field of play."

An honorable goal. And here's the truth about Herm: He stunk as coach of the Chiefs -- 15-33 in three seasons.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-random30-2009jan30,0,1873145.story

ANGELA SULEMAN-OCTUPLETS' Mother's Mom Speaks!

Octuplets Make 14 For Soon-To-Be Busy Mom

Family: California Mother Already Had 6 Young Children

WHITTIER, Calif. -- The Southern California woman who gave birth to octuplets this week has six other children and never expected to have another eight when she took fertility treatment, her mother said Thursday.Angela Suleman said her daughter expects a big challenge raising 14 children, especially with the husband returning to Iraq. The good news, she said, is all the babies appear healthy."I looked at those babies. They are so tiny and so beautiful," she told The Los Angeles Times.

Suleman's daughter gave birth to the octuplets on Monday at a hospital in Bellflower but has requested that doctors keep her name confidential. Media knew little about the woman until a family acquaintance told the CBS Early Show on Thursday the mother is "fairly young" and lives with her parents on a cul-de-sac with six children, including a set of twins.Within hours, media had camped out at the family's home in Whittier, where the babies' grandfather pulled up in a minivan in the evening and briefly spoke to The Associated Press. Beside him were two children -- a 7-year-old and 6-year-old -- who said they were excited to have eight new siblings.But the grandfather warned that media may have a tougher time finding the family after the babies are released from the hospital."We have a huge house, not here," said the man, who only identified himself as Ed. "You are never going to know where it is."

Suleman said her daughter had embryos implanted last year, and after finding out she was pregnant with multiple babies was given the option by doctors of selectively reducing the number of embryos. The woman declined."What do you suggest she should have done? She refused to have them killed," Suleman told the Times. "That is a very painful thing."Dr. Harold Henry said the woman was already pregnant when she came to Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center, and she was counseled on the options of aborting some of the fetuses.

Doctors had been expecting only seven babies, but an eighth was born in the Caesarean delivery.Dr. Karen Maples, chief of the department of obstetrics and gynecology, read a statement at a news conference that she said were the mother's own words."We understand that you are all curious about the arrival of the octuplets and we appreciate your respect for our family's privacy. Please know, in our own time, we will share additional details about this miraculous experience," the statement said."The babies continue to grow strong everyday and make good progress. My family and I are ecstatic about all of their arrivals. Needless to say the eighth was a surprise to us all, but a blessing as well."Dr. Mandhir Gupta said seven of the babies were breathing room air without assistance.

One, Baby G, was still receiving oxygen through a tube in his nose.Seven of the infants were being tube-fed donated breast milk. Baby E, a boy, was expected to begin feedings Friday.All babies continued to receive an intravenous nutritional combination. They were expected to remain in the hospital for several more weeks.

http://www.nbc6.net/health/18600995/detail.html

ANGELINA JOLIE wore SAG Dress Backwards-4 TATTOOS!

Angelina wears dress backwards

London, Jan 30 (PTI) Actress Angelina Jolie at temped to renew her style statement by wearing her elegant blue gown backwards at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.

Wearing her dress backwards was seen as an attempt by Jolie to spark off a new fashion trend in Hollywood, 'Mirror' reported.

Jolie's stylist Jen Rade has confirmed the 33-year-old actress turned the blue dress around, so she could show off the tattoos on her back.

On the red carpet, the 'Changeling' star revealed that she often dressed to shock people.

"I just like to be comfortable. I see what comfortable options are out there," she said. PTI

http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/E08247E5A21E37BF6525754E0028E94A?OpenDocument

JIN CHEN-MICROSOFT Employee's Death Reason Suicide

Microsoft employee's death ruled a suicide

A new Microsoft Corp. employee, whose lifelong goal had been to work at the company, died after falling from the 28th floor of the Lincoln Square office complex in Bellevue, where the company's sales force leases space.

Greg Grannis, a Bellevue Police Department spokesman, said the man landed on the roof near the complex's movie theater Sunday night.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office identified the man as Jin Chen, 22, and ruled the death a suicide.

In a statement, Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos said that Chen had accepted a job at Microsoft after completing an internship at the company.

"He was an energetic, well-liked young colleague who displayed a lot of promise. We are shocked and saddened by Jin's death, and our thoughts go out to his family, friends and colleagues," Gellos said.

Neither Chen nor anybody in his broader group was affected by the layoffs announced last week, the company said.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/397879_tbrfs29.html

Wanna Know Whats 'STUFF WHITE PEOPLE LIKE'?!!!

According to Christian Lander, the idea behind his popular blog "Stuff White People Like" began when a "shamelessly racist" friend advised him not to trust white people that don't watch The Wire.

The origins of "Stuff" date from January 2008, he said, because of an instant messenger conversation between him and his friend Miles about the HBO drama "The Wire." Miles, who is Filipino, tossed off that he didn't trust any white person who didn't watch the series.

That exchange started a back-and-forth between the two about what white people were doing instead of watching the show.

"We said, 'Oh, they are going to plays, they're doing yoga, they're getting divorced,' " recalled Lander, who couldn't pass up the gold mine of ideas and started blogging. "The goal was to literally make Miles and a few of my friends laugh, and it just took off."

Initially garnering hits only among Lander's close friends, the blog started on January 18 and generated only about 25 views per day. After just one week, however, Lander described how the blog accrued 1000 hits in one day.

Lander's excitement over his blog's sudden apparent popularity prompted him to publish his work on a private host site, where it exploded to hundreds of thousands of hits in one day, effectively crashing the low-bandwidth, private site.

Forced to take his material back to its original site on WordPress, an incredulous Lander watched the hyper-exponential growth of his blog peak at 800,000 hits before being contacted by literary agents eager to buy his material in late February last year.

However, soon afterwards Lander was aggressively contacted by four of the five Hollywood talent agencies. He eventually signed with William Morris.

The rocketing trajectory of the project, which began with an obscure blog and crested in July with a New York Times bestselling book has landed the unassuming Lander with a signing advance of $300,000 and a guest spot on The Conan O'Brien show alongside Tim Gunn and Jerry O'Connell.

Lander, a Toronto native and self-described "white guy," was keen to make the point that his writing is not an indictment of skin color, but rather a commentary on well-educated, liberal, affluent denizens of North America.

CNN talked to the blogger-turned-author about his "whiteness," whether he is like Stephen Colbert but instead mocks earnest, left-wing types, and why "Stuff White People Like" will never make the list of "Stuff White People Like."

CNN: Where do you get your ideas?

Christian Lander: Farmers' markets.

CNN: How do you get your ideas at farmers' markets?

Lander: Keeping my eyes open. I just see what people are up to. And the mirror is another good place to look for inspiration. I really make fun of myself.

CNN: So what makes you an authority on white people?

Lander: Look at me [laughing]. I mean, I have liberal arts degrees; I look like this. I'm on the inside.

CNN: Do you ever worry about offending people?

Lander: No. I'm glad when I offend people with this because it's not offensive. What's been great about it is the title draws people in, and right away they are like, "What is this? Am I going to get offended by this?" Then they read it, and it's not what they expect. People see the title and they expect "Stuff White People Like" to be entries like mayonnaise, or dancing poorly, these old stereotypes that are really outdated and aren't even funny anymore.

You're sort of expecting it to be the lame white guy stuff and you go, "Oh my God, this is all the stuff I actually like." It's playing off white stereotypes, but it's not stereotypes in a demeaning way.

CNN: If those are old stereotypes, could your stuff be considered "new stereotypes"?

Lander: No, because they're true [laughing]. I consider these valid observations. It's an update on this idea of a yuppie. In the '80s, the idea of the yuppie was really about just consumerism: I have an expensive BMW, I have these things, and it's buying, buying, buying. I think that that attitude is still there, but the materials changed into where it's "My carbon footprint's lower, my music taste is better, I visited more countries than you." The quest for status is still there.

CNN: What are some of the entries that elicited the most negative responses and really pushed people's buttons?

Lander: One was written by Miles. Now Miles is Asian, and I can't stress that enough. He wrote post No. 11, which is "White People Like Asian Girls." That has been by far the most commented on. The other ones have all been pretty level in terms of drawing responses from people.

CNN: What are some of the things that have been rejected from the list?

Lander: People send in stuff all the time, and one of the things is that people just don't get what I am going for here. They send in [suggestions such as] guns, NASCAR, trailer parks -- these old stereotypes that are not what I'm after. The one I reject a lot is people say, "Well, you know what, 'Stuff White People Like' should be on the list of 'Stuff White People Like.' " I'm just like, "All right, postmodern hero, you're not the first person to send this in. I'm not putting it on the list."

CNN: Entry No. 92 is book deals, so we are assuming you like that one. What are some other things on the list you like?

Lander: There are things that I like that I am ashamed that I like. My favorite entry, which I wrote and where I attack myself the most, is "Knowing What's Best for Poor People." That was one that definitely applies to me, and I sort of recognize the ego that's behind that one and how ridiculous that one is.

CNN: What's some stuff white people don't like?

Lander: Other white people. That's it. The wrong kind of white people.

CNN: Who are the wrong kind of white people?

Lander: Anyone you blame for everything that's wrong in America are the wrong kind of white people. Not only do they hate them because they create all of these problems, but if those kinds of people start liking anything on this list, they immediately become unacceptable.

CNN: Stephen Colbert made the list, and he's renowned for making fun of the right wing. Do you consider yourself a type of Stephen Colbert for the lefties?

Lander: I don't know because Stephen Colbert, in his heart of hearts, is a lefty and so am I. I consider myself a self-aware, left-wing person who's not afraid to recognize the selfishness and contradictions that come on the left. I think a lot of people who are on that side really fail to do that a lot of the time.

I think the people I write about here are very, very self-righteous and believe that everything they do is right, and they are very resistant to cast a critical eye to themselves. It was really fun for me to write in a cathartic way, sort of like I am attacking my own pretentiousness and my own ridiculousness. It's just amazing because these people are so self-aware but so unaware at the same time.

http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2009/01/29/News/Author.Of.stuff.White.People.Like.Visits.Penn-3602687.shtml
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/books/01/29/stuff.white.people.like/?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail

Meet THE MAN WHOSE ARMS EXPLODED!

The Man Whose Arms Exploded

Gregg Valentino wanted to be special ... to really stand out in a crowd. His dream ... to become the man with the world's biggest arms. At his peak Gregg's biceps measured a massive 28-inches in diameter biceps but at what cost?



http://www.flicklife.com/856b06e1273989422e7d/The_Man_Whose_Arms_Exploded.html

ILLINOIS GOVERNOR ROD BLAGOJEVICH OUT,PATRICK QUINN IN

Blagojevich ousted as Illinois Governor

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been removed from office after the state Senate unanimously convicted him on impeachment charges.

Blagojevich ousted as Illinois Governor

The charges include an accusation he tried to sell the US Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.

The Illinois Senate, acting as a jury, voted 59-0 to oust the second-term Democrat immediately. The lawmakers also voted by the same margin to bar him from ever holding public office again in America's fifth most populous state.

Before the vote, members of the Senate, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 37-22, called Mr Blagojevich "devious," "cynical," "crass," "corrupt," "inept," "a liar," "a hypocrite" and "irresponsible".

Mr Blagojevich had pleaded with the body hours earlier, asking, "How can you throw a governor out of office who is clamouring and begging and pleading with you to give him a chance to bring witnesses in to prove his innocence? A crime has not been proven here."

He later said outside his Chicago home he was "saddened and disappointed but not at all surprised" by what happened. "It was a fixed deal from the beginning."

Mr Blagojevich skipped the chance to make a formal defence during the proceedings because, he said, the rules restricted him from calling the witnesses he needed or playing in full the federal government bugged conversations that led to charges involving Mr Obama's Senate seat.

Democratic Lieutenant Governor Patrick Quinn was sworn in as governor almost immediately, saying, "The ordeal is over" and urging people to "to make the sacrifices necessary to address the serious challenges we have before us: The integrity challenge, the challenge of our economy, the challenge of making sure that we pay our bills."

Mr Obama pledged full cooperation with the new governor, saying in a statement: "Today ends a painful episode for Illinois. For months, the state had been crippled by a crisis of leadership. Now that cloud has lifted."

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090130/twl-blagojevich-ousted-as-illinois-gover-41f21e0.html

Thursday, January 29, 2009

GOOGLE MEASUREMENT LABS WEB TOOLS CHALLENGE

Google Fans Net Neutrality Flames with Web Measurement Lab

Google challenges ISPs with Web measurement tools from Measurement Lab, a research effort designed to put ISPs in check. The partly Google-sponsored M-Lab aims to be a new network neutrality weapon for content providers to wield against service providers who throttle Web services or assign preferential traffic treatment. Google is clearly protecting its cloud computing kingdom.

Google opened a new front in the network neutrality war between content providers and ISPs Jan. 28 by offering measurement tools to help computer users determine why their Web applications are balky.

The search company created Measurement Lab, an open platform upon which researchers can deploy Internet measurement tools, in conjunction with the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute, the PlanetLab Consortium and academic researchers.

Google Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf, one of the Internet's founding fathers, wrote in a post explaining M-Lab:

When an Internet application doesn't work as expected or your connection seems flaky, how can you tell whether there is a problem caused by your broadband ISP, the application, your PC, or something else? It can be difficult for experts, let alone average Internet users, to address this sort of question today.

Cerf added that while researchers today are working on tools to let users gauge their Internet connection speeds and see if their ISP is choking certain Web applications, so far they lack the computing, connectivity and collaboration resources to do so with any authority.

To address this gap, Google will provide researchers with 36 servers in 12 locations in the United States and Europe. Data collected from M-Lab will be made public for researchers' use.

The move is a warning to ISPs that prefer to manage their users' Web connectivity and fight with content providers over this on one of the biggest Internet battlefields:network neutrality.

Part of the House Stimulus Package approved today, net neutrality calls for service providers to have no restrictions on content, sites or platforms, and on the kinds of equipment that may be attached and the modes of communication allowed. It also calls for communication not to be stifled by other communication streams on the Web.

Google, as company whose livelihood and success is predicated on connecting users to content as quickly as possible through its search engine and on delivering quality Web applications to users, is a staunch network neutrality proponent, as are most content providers.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Web-Services-Web-20-and-SOA/Google-Fans-Net-Neutrality-Flames-With-Web-Measurement-Lab/

No More BLACKWATER WORLDWIDE SECURITY in IRAQ

Iraq won't allow Blackwater to operate in country

Blackwater Worldwide's headquarters is seen in Moyock, N.C., in this Monday, July 21, 2008 file photo. Iraq will not allow Blackwater Worldwide to continue providing security protection for U.S. diplomats in the country, Iraqi and U.S. officials said Thursday Jan. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq will not allow Blackwater Worldwide to continue providing security protection for U.S. diplomats in the country, Iraqi and U.S. officials said Thursday, a move that would deprive U.S. officials of their primary protection force.

Blackwater's image in Iraq was irrevocably tarnished by the September 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisoor Square. Five former Blackwater guards pleaded not guilty Jan. 6 in federal court in Washington to manslaughter and gun charges in that shooting.

Even before the shooting, Blackwater had a reputation for aggressive operations and using excessive force in protecting American officials, an allegation the company has disputed.

Anne Tyrrell, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina-based company, said the company had not yet been notified of the Iraqi decision.

"I can tell you that we have received no official communications from the government of Iraq on this matter," she said.

The decision not to issue Blackwater an operating license was due to "improper conduct and excessive use of force," said Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf.

Neither Khalaf nor a U.S. Embassy official gave a date for Blackwater personnel to leave the country and neither said whether they would be allowed to continue guarding U.S. diplomats during the interim.

A U.S.-Iraqi security agreement approved in November gives the Iraqis the authority to determine which Western security companies operate in Iraq. A joint U.S.-Iraqi committee is drawing up procedures for licensing and regulating security companies under the security agreement and it is unclear when it will finish the process.

"We have followed the procedures to apply for and secure operating licenses in Iraq," said Tyrrell, the Blackwater spokeswoman. "Any further questions about that the licensing process should be directed to our customer."

Khalaf said Blackwater employees who have not been implicated in the 2007 shooting have the right to work in Iraq but must find a different employer.

"We sent our decision to the U.S. Embassy last Friday," Khalaf told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "They have to find a new security company."

The U.S. Embassy official confirmed it received the government's decision, saying that U.S. officials were working with the Iraqi government and its contractors to address the "implications of this decision."

The official made the statement on condition of anonymity under embassy regulations.

In the 2007 shooting, Blackwater maintains its guards opened fire after coming under attack after a car in a State Department convoy broke down.

The Iraqi government has labeled the guards "criminals" and is closely watching the case.

The State Department relies heavily in Blackwater since it is the largest and best-equipped security company here.

But the company has become a lightning rod for Iraqi complaints about the behavior of Western security companies, whose employees were immune from prosecution under Iraqi law until the security agreement took effect this month.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2009 FEDERER Demolishes RODDICK

Federer demolishes Roddick to reach Aus Open final

Roger Federer advanced to the final of the Australian Open with a 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 demolition of Andy Roddick on Thursday.

The 27-year-old Federer extended his head-to-head record to 16-2 against Roddick and will now be aiming to equal Pete Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slam titles on Sunday.

Federer, who beat the American at the same stage in the 2007 tournament before going on to lift the title, will play either world number one Rafa Nadal or Fernando Verdasco in the final.

The Spanish pair play their semi-final on Friday.

Earlier, Dinara Safina overpowered fellow-Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 7-6 to join American Serena Williams in the women's final.

The combination of Safina's heavier shot-making and aggression proved too much for Zvonareva as the third seed closed out victory in one hour and 46 minutes under a clsoed roof at the Rod Laver centre court.

Safina won four games in a row to take the opening set after trailing 2-3 then broke Zvonareva's brittle serve to force the tiebreak after the seventh seed blew her chance to force a deciding third set.

The 22-year-old Safina reached the French Open final last year but is now on the verge of a first Grand Slam title after rebounding from a shaky start to the tournament to produce her best performance when it mattered most.

The winner of Saturday's final will receive the added bonus of taking over the world number one ranking from Serbia's Jelena Jankovic, who was knocked out in the fourth round at Melbourne Park this year.

The men's doubles final will be between third seeds Mahesh Bhupathi-Mark Knowles and American second seeds Mike and Bob Bryan.

Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Knowles thrashed Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach 6-3, 6-1 to make the final of a Grand Slam event together for the first time since forging the partnership in 2008.

In the other semi-final, the Bryans beat fourth seeds Leander Paes-Lukas Dlouhy 6-3, 6-3.

http://www.rediff.com/sports/2009/jan/29federer-demolishes-roddick-to-reach-aus-open-final.htm

ANTI GRAVITY YOGA Becomes Huge Hit

Anti-gravity yoga gets you up, down and everyway in between

Anti-gravity yoga is a high intensity super-core fitness
experience and would probably make me vomit if I did it.

Here's a great way to get phsycially fit or just feel like Spiderman or a member of the Chinese Olympic team.

My wife is a big gym class goer. There is almost nothing she won't venture to do.

Bellydance, kickboxing, pole dance you name it she loves it(she's featured in the pole dancing promo video and no I will not be telling you which one she is), but she was really thrilled about anti-gravity yoga at Crunch Gym in NYC.

To me it looks to me like an S&M club designed by Cirque cu Soleil, but my wife swears by it; and she's taken gym classes 4 or 5 times a week for years.

Dubbed anti-gravity yoga by its founder former gymnast Christopher Harrison, it's part acrobatics, body conditioning, Pilates and gymnastics.

“It’s different from any other workout” my wife Gabby says. It seems easy but it's quite strenuous.

You use a fabric that you grab and swing from, and sometimes hang upside down from. It's not for the faint of heart or the easily dizzy.

If the Madhatter ride at Disney gives you fits like it does me, watch out here.

Gabby advises that you let go and trust yourself when you’re hanging and flipping around in mid air and you’ll have a great time. If you want an invigorating workout that gives you length and strength, go for it.

http://www.examiner.com/x-914-NY-Wellness-Examiner~y2009m1d24-How-the-hell-did-I-get-in-this-position-antigravity-yoga

STARBUCKS to Close 300 Stores,Lay Off 7000 Employees

Starbucks Closing 300 Stores, Laying Off Nearly 7,000

The economic crisis is eating into high-end coffee consumption, as Starbucks found out in its fiscal first quarter.

In earnings just released, the coffeemaker said it would lay off up to 6,000 employees at its stores and let go another 700 non-store employees, half of which would come at the company's Seattle headquarters.

Also, Starbucks said it would close 200 U.S. and 100 foreign stores. This comes in addition to the shuttering of 661 stores announced last year. Most stores are expected close this year.

First-quarter revenue at the coffee giant was down 6 percent and earnings were down a venti-sized 69 percent.

The company also plans to open 140 new stores in the U.S. down from its earlier goal of 200; and 170 new stores internationally, down from 270. Capital expenditures will face a $100 million haircut.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/economy-watch/2009/01/starbucks_closing_hundreds_of.html?hpid=topnews

JACKSON POLLACK Honored By GOOGLE On Birthday

GOOGLE HONORS JACKSON POLLACK

Mountain View - Those who log onto the homepage for the Internet's busiest search engine may see something out of the ordinary today. Instead of the standard Google logo, it appears almost obscured in a splash of colors. It turns out today would have been the birthday of abstract artist Jackson Pollock. As a tribute the Google logo has been re-done today in a way derivative of the so-called "drip technique" the artist used to create his works. Google is known for altering its logo on its homepage for special occasions, like Christmas and Valentine's Day, and has honored a number of other artists in the same tradition. Meanwhile, if you want to get into the spirit of the Pollock birthday, there's a funs surprise waiting at www.jacksonpollock.org. We won't give away the secret, but when you go there, be sure to click on what looks like a blank page.

http://kliv.com/GOOGLE-HONORS-JACKSON-POLLACK/3743046

COOKIE DIET-Dr. Siegal's EAT & LOSE Weight Loss Diet

It's a hot diet -- the Cookie Diet. A doctor claims you can lose weight by not exercising and eating his special cookies.

It's sounds like a dream, but dieticians, like Stacy Romano with the NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital, say we need to wake up and see this is not healthy.

"In my opinion this is not a healthy diet."

The diet was introduced by Dr. Sanford Siegal of Siegal Medical Group in Miami. He says these carefully crafted cookies suppress your hunger throughout the day. You only eat one meal consisting of 6 oz. of lean meat (red meat is discouraged because of the high fat content) and one cup of steamed vegetables. You just have to make sure you eat 6 of these cookies.

Diet's origins

In 1975, Siegal was an obesity doctor in South Florida, and his goal in devising the first cookie diet was to make his patients' poundage plummet. He believed patients did best when their results were fast and obvious. "You go to the doctor's office and see the weight coming off every week," he says. "That's a tremendous motivating factor."

Siegal settled on 800 calories a day as the optimum number for weight loss. And he came up with a plan in which dieters got those 800 calories by eating his cookies for breakfast and lunch and then lean meat and vegetables for dinner.

He says it's safe, under supervision -- "I've never seen a problem with too low a calorie diet. Staying obese, that's the danger." And he says it's very effective: "No one fails on 800 calories a day, believe me."

The trick with any diet is sticking to it, and proponents say cookie diets are highly stick-to-it-able. After all, cookies are convenient, portable and, hey, they're cookies.

But the main reason people manage to stay on the diets, manufacturers believe, is because the cookies keep them from getting ravenous.

Hunger suppression is crucial, Siegal says. "Any diet will work if people can follow it, but they can't follow it if they're too hungry."

It's no problem to curb hunger by eating a lot of calories. It's a lot harder if you get only 800 calories a day (or even a few hundred more as some plans allow). Manufacturers say cookie diets pull this off by using special ingredients -- including certain amino acids and soy byproducts -- or by prescribing small, frequent meals instead of three big ones, or by doing both.

But is this too few calories? Romano says yes.

"It's about 800 calories and about 70 grams of carbohydrates which makes this an extremely calories and low carbohydrate diet."

Dangerous? Unhealthy? Romano says with this diet you are losing more than just weight.

"You will lose weight on this type of diet, however what you are doing in the long run is lowering your metabolism, so when you do start eating again you are going to put the weight back on plus some."

Contrary to Dr. Siegal's statements, Romano says it's dangerous to lose weight that fast.

"It is never healthy to lose weight that quickly. What we have to remember is that we did not put weight on overnight and it's not going to come off overnight."

For one week supply of cookies, it will run you $59. But on Dr. Siegal's website, he urges you to purchase nutrition supplements as well, for $10 a bottle.

"Nothing can replace food. There are things called vita-chemicals that are in food that are non-nutrient substances that gives us lots of health properties so we really need that food and not just a supplement."

Romano suggests instead of this fad diet, we take a look at what we eat and do day to day.

"You are not going to go on a cookie diet for the rest of your life so you to actually make a lifestyle change and one that's realistic."

If you are wanting to lose weight, here are a few tips romano suggests:

- Eat 5 to 6 small meals a day instead of larger meals

- this increases your metabolism and steers off hunger

- Also, cut out sodas, fast food, and sweets

- And incorporate exercise into your weight loss program

"Exercise is always a part of weight loss and healthy living."

The cookie diet may be the quick fix you are looking for today, but not the lifestyle you want for tomorrow.

"It will fix the problem right at that moment, but the weight is going to come right back."

If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

http://www.kait8.com/Global/story.asp?S=9715651&nav=menu67_3

TEA Is The New COFFEE,HONEST,Ask Prez Obama!

Is tea the new coffee? Ask Barack Obama

There’s no doubt that coffee holds a unique place in our culture. You know the routine by now. A colleague wants to talk to you about a project — let’s have coffee. You want to catch up with an old friend — let’s have coffee. Someone wants to ask you out on a date, but is either too chicken or doesn’t really want to pony up that much cash — let’s go get coffee.

But tea -- cold or hot -- is giving coffee some competition. It is the second most widely consumed beverage in the world. (The first is water.) We’ve recently been bombarded with messages about the ancient drink’s health benefits. Starbucks is unveiling a new line of tea drinks — London Fog Latte, anyone? And as it turns out, bottled tea beverages are one of President-elect Barack Obama’s favorite things.

However, Seth Goldman, president and co-founder of Honest Tea –- a bottled tea favored by the president-elect -- rejects the notion that tea is the new coffee.

“Tea is the new tea," he said. “Tea is the world’s second most popular drink. It has been around for thousands of years. People are moving away from soda and looking for healthier options. Tea is its own thing.”

Goldman said Honest Tea came together about 11 years ago, when he and co-founder, professor Barry Nalebuff of the Yale School of Management, realized that “nothing was quenching our thirst. We had always had an idea of creating a drink with not a lot of sugar, but something that tasted great where you could taste the real ingredients....Tea tastes great and it has healthful and functional properties. The highest quality tea can still be enjoyed for pennies per bottle. We can have this very high quality product at a very affordable price. Everything we make is organic.”

In total, Honest Tea has 20 varieties. The company found out Obama was partial to it after he was elected to the U.S. Senate. “We got a call from his office and they wanted to know where he could buy it,” Goldman said.

A few years later, Goldman was on a plane to Chicago and ran into Obama, who was also on board. “I introduced myself. He said: ‘Oh, I had just been drinking Dragon Tea on the way to the airport.’ I ran into him again and he said he had to move away from the green teas because the caffeine was keeping him up.”

Goldman said that Black Forest Berry (which has no caffeine) is Obama’s Honest Tea of choice now.

Honest Tea will be in Washington to celebrate the inauguration -- and give out free samples. Each bottle has a “neck hanger” that reads in part: “We live in an amazing country where dreams can come true...”

Starbucks has woken up and smelled the coffee –- er, tea -– and is also trying to get in on the game. It's unveiling a new line of hot and cold tea beverages to respond to customers’ request for more choices.

Among them: three new lattes, including the Tazo London Fog Tea Latte, and two fruit-flavored chai tea infusions, apple and berry.

Starbucks called in Lisa Drayer, a registered dietitian, wellness expert and health reporter who frequently appears on the "Today Show" and "Good Morning America" to discuss the health benefits of tea -– and why a “tea break” might be just what folks need to regroup during a busy day.

"People think of tea as an afternoon ritual. Tea is a lifestyle change that people can make to rejuvenate. It provides a great break during a busy day, and it can be just 15 minutes,” she said. "Coffee can have 75 milligrams [or more] of caffeine. Whereas a 12-ounce London Fog latte has 10 milligrams of caffeine. So I’d suggest coffee for the a.m. and tea in the afternoon because it gives you just enough caffeine to keep you going.”

Drayer said the reason to drink tea are the multiple health benefits, namely that famous “a” word we all know by now.

“Antioxidants!... Tea boosts immunity and can be beneficial in fighting off bacteria. Antioxidants fight aging and disease. We see studies showing these outcomes.”

She also advises that the U.S. take a page from Britain. “Because we are in such stressful times, a lot of us are seeking an afternoon break. Adding a 15-minute tea break is an easy thing to do. There is always a silver lining when things get stressful, and a tea break is a great thing. I encourage everyone to add tea time to their day.” She added: “A tea break certainly allows us to re-charge. The Brits have it right.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2009/01/is-tea-the-new.html

OBAMA IMPEACHMENT By PALIN SEDUCTION Plot Uncovered

Woman Arrested in Plot to Seduce Obama

by NickFun

Palin shows off one of the dresses she was going to use to seduce Obama. A 19-year-old right-wing Evangelical Christian college student was arrested this morning after sources revealed she planned to become an intern and seduce U.S. President Barack Obama for the purpose of removing him from office. Shelly Palin (no relation to Alaska governor Sarah Palin), a Huntington University sophomore, tearfully broke down and confessed that she planned to perform fellatio on the Chief Executive. Police who raided Palin's home stated they found several blue dresses, six pairs of thong panties, two jars of heated KY Jelly and a Cuban cigar as well as a one-way plane ticket to Washington, DC. "My whole family backed McCain", Palin stated. "We didn't want no black man in the White House. I promised my mommy, daddy and God that I would do everything I could to get him impeached". Undercover investigators discovered that Palin did not act alone but was supported and funded by the Holy Roller Baptist Church and Huntington University both in Huntington, IN. Holy Roller Pastor John Friday stated that he was unaware of any plot to overthrow Obama and inexplicably revealed that he has never had sex with Ms Palin. "I don't know about any plots to overthrow that Negro and, if anyone asks, I did not have any kind of sex with Shelly Palin!" the Pastor stated. Palin stated that she is a virgin and plans to remain that way until she marries. "Blow jobs ain't the same as sex", Ms Palin firmly stated. Several unnamed members of the Holy Roller Church as well as several faculty members at Huntington University have been named in the investigation. Investigators found several letters of recommendation for the intern position from some high level University officials. Obama seemed unconcerned when he heard of Shelly Palin's arrest. "I wouldn't have accepted her anyway", Obama stated. "I'm only hiring ugly girls. History has taught us too much". University officials declined comment due to the pending litigation. If convicted of attempted seduction, Ms Palin may spend 30 years behind bars.

http://www.unconfirmedsources.com/index.php?itemid=3975

GOOGLE HOT TRENDS JAN 28 2009

1.	inès de la fressange
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Learn 2 Live Debt Free- AMERICA'S CHEAPEST FAMILY

Meet the Cheapest Family in America, they are headed by Steve and Annette Economides, who have have lived the Economiser lifestyle since 1982. They are raising a family of 7 with an annual income of about $44,000 in Arizona. Now the Economides family are turning their frugalness into money by creating this best selling book called “America’s Cheapest Family”.

They wrote about living within their means, life without credits, how to budget, how to save money, how to shop wisely, money management, prioritizing, teamwork and a lot more.

So if you want to meet both ends during this financial crisis, better start reading their book to survive.

On their blog http://www.homeeconomiser.com/ they give helpful tips on how to save money during these hard times.Here is an interesting post they wrote recently:

Bills keep piling up: What to do?
Question: With grocery, utilities and public transportation prices climbing, our family is struggling to survive. We have a large family and do grow a small garden, but the bills keep piling up. We’re behind on our rent and income taxes. Our kids attend a charter school that requires uniforms which we can’t afford. We don’t have credit cards or a car and never take vacations. What can we do?

Answer: The economy is affecting everyone. We know that is no consolation to you when you’re struggling. We’ve got to remember that there are always solutions and options. First, find a way to spend less than you earn. Every month. Can your husband find a higher paying job? Do you need to look into cheaper housing in a different part of town? Could you be an apartment manager for a small apartment complex or be a caretaker of a larger property in exchange for free or reduced rent? Are any of your kids old enough to work part-time and contribute some of what they earn to the family? Does the school have a uniform exchange with reduced priced clothing? Is there a thrift store nearby where other families may have donated their used uniforms?

There are other things you can do right now do to improve your situation. They may hurt your pride a bit, but in the long run they will help you get back on your feet. These are:

* 1) Contact a food bank in your area and get some food for your family.
o 2) Call the Arizona Department of Economic Security and start the process to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamps.) The number is 602-542-9935 in the Phoenix metro area; 800-352-8401 in the rest of the state. Other states have similar programs.
o If you are part of a church or religious group, ask help from the leadership.
o 3) Contact your electric utility for low-income rate-payer assistance.
o 4) Contact the United Way and ask them to connect you to agencies that can help.
o 5) Contact the IRS now and start communicating with them about your back taxes.
You may feel beaten down, but you don’t have to be a victim. As long as your family is together, you’ve got each other and you’ve got hope. We’re cheering for you.

http://joanjoyce.com/blog/?p=762

http://tech.spreadit.org/americas-cheapest-family/

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

BACON EXPLOSION-Bacon-Sausage Rock Blogosphere

Take Bacon. Add Sausage. Blog.

Don Ipock for The New York Times

The Bacon Explosion is a rolled concoction that can be baked or cooked in a smoker.

FOR a nation seeking unity, a recipe has swept the Internet that seems to unite conservatives and liberals, gun owners and foodies, carnivores and ... well, not vegetarians and health fanatics.

Certainly not the vegetarians and health fanatics.

This recipe is the Bacon Explosion, modestly called by its inventors “the BBQ Sausage Recipe of all Recipes.” The instructions for constructing this massive torpedo-shaped amalgamation of two pounds of bacon woven through and around two pounds of sausage and slathered in barbecue sauce first appeared last month on the Web site of a team of Kansas City competition barbecuers. They say a diverse collection of well over 16,000 Web sites have linked to the recipe, celebrating, or sometimes scolding, its excessiveness. A fresh audience could be ready to discover it on Super Bowl Sunday.

Where once homegrown recipes were disseminated in Ann Landers columns or Junior League cookbooks, new media have changed — and greatly accelerated — the path to popularity. Few recipes have cruised down this path as fast or as far as the Bacon Explosion, and this turns out to be no accident. One of its inventors works as an Internet marketer, and had a sophisticated understanding of how the latest tools of promotion could be applied to a four-pound roll of pork.

The Bacon Explosion was born shortly before Christmas in Roeland Park, Kan., in Jason Day’s kitchen. He and Aaron Chronister, who anchor a barbecue team called Burnt Finger BBQ, were discussing a challenge from a bacon lover they received on their Twitter text-messaging service: What could the barbecuers do with bacon?

At the same time, Mr. Chronister wanted to get attention for their Web site, BBQAddicts.com. More traffic would bring in more advertising income, which they needed to fund a hobby that can cost thousands of dollars.

Mr. Day, a systems administrator who has been barbecuing since college, suggested doing something with a pile of sausage. “It’s a variation of what’s called a fattie in the barbecue community,” Mr. Day said. “But we took it to the extreme.”

He bought about $20 worth of bacon and Italian sausage from a local meat market. As it lay on the counter, he thought of weaving strips of raw bacon into a mat. The two spackled the bacon mat with a layer of sausage, covered that with a crunchy layer of cooked bacon, and rolled it up tight.

They then stuck the roll — containing at least 5,000 calories and 500 grams of fat — in the Good-One Open Range backyard smoker that they use for practice. (In competitions, they use a custom-built smoker designed by the third member of the team, Bryant Gish, who was not present at the creation of the Bacon Explosion.)

Mr. Day said his wife laughed the whole time. “She’s very supportive of my hobby,” he said.

The two men posted their adventure on their Web site two days before Christmas. On Christmas Day, traffic on the site spiked to more than 27,000 visitors.

Mr. Chronister explained that the Bacon Explosion “got so much traction on the Web because it seems so over the top.” But Mr. Chronister, an Internet marketer from Kansas City, Mo., did what he could to help it along. He first used Twitter to send short text messages about the recipe to his 1,200 Twitter followers, many of them fellow Internet marketers with extensive social networks. He also posted links on social networking sites. “I used a lot of my connections to get it out there and to push it,” he said.

The Bacon Explosion posting has since been viewed about 390,000 times. It first found a following among barbecue fans, but quickly spread to sites run by outdoor enthusiasts, off-roaders and hunters. (Several proposed venison-sausage versions.) It also got mentions on the Web site of Air America, the liberal radio network, and National Review, the conservative magazine. Jonah Goldberg at NationalReview.com wrote, “There must be a reason one reader after another sends me this every couple hours.” Conservatives4palin.com linked, too.

So did regular people. A man from Wooster, Ohio, wrote that friends had served it at a bon voyage party before his 10-day trip to Israel, where he expected bacon to be in short supply. “It wasn’t planned as a send-off for me to Israel, but with all of the pork involved it sure seemed like it,” he wrote.

About 30 people sent in pictures of their Explosions. One sent a video of the log catching fire on a grill.

Mr. Day said that whether it is cooked in an oven or in a smoker, the rendered fat from the bacon keeps the sausage juicy. But in the smoker, he said, the smoke heightens the flavor of the meats.

Nick Pummell, a barbecue hobbyist in Las Vegas, learned of the recipe from Mr. Chronister’s Twittering. He made his first Explosion on Christmas Day, when he and a group of friends also had a more traditional turkey. “This was kind of the dessert part,” he said. “You need to call 911 after you are done. It was awesome.”

Mr. Chronister said the main propellant behind the Bacon Explosion’s spread was a Web service called StumbleUpon, which steers Web users toward content they are likely to find interesting. Readers tell the service about their professional interests or hobbies, and it serves up sites to match them. More than 7 million people worldwide use the service in an attempt to duplicate serendipity, the company says.

Mr. Chronister intended to send the post to StumbleUpon, but one of his readers beat him to it. It appeared on the front page of StumbleUpon for three days, which further increased traffic.

Mr. Chronister also littered his site with icons for Digg, Del.icio.us and other sites in which readers vote on posts or Web pages they like, helping to spread the word. “Alright this is going on Digg,” a commenter wrote minutes after the Explosion was posted. “Already there,” someone else answered.

Some have claimed that the Bacon Explosion is derivative. A writer known as the Headless Blogger posted a similar roll of sausage and bacon in mid-December. Mr. Chronister and Mr. Day do not claim to have invented the concept.

But they do vigorously defend their method. When one commenter dared to suggest that the two hours in the smoker could be slashed to a mere 30 minutes if the roll was first cooked in a microwave oven, Mr. Chronister snapped back. “Microwave??? Seriously? First, the proteins in the meats will bind around 140 degrees, so putting it on the smoker after that is pointless as it won’t absorb any smoke flavor,” he responded on his site. “This requires patience and some attention. It’s not McDonald’s.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/dining/28bacon.html

LANCELOT ENCORE:The $155G CLONED DOG of South Korea!

Florida Couple Gets $155G Cloned Dog: Lancelot Encore

MIAMI — A Boca Raton couple got a new dog, and it's just like their old dog. Not just the same breed and gender, but the same DNA.

Nina and Edgar Otto picked up their cloned yellow lab puppy at the Miami International Airport Monday night. Lancelot Encore was cloned from the DNA of the Ottos' late dog Lancelot, which died of cancer in January 2008. Guessing that pet cloning would one day be possible, the Ottos had DNA samples of their dog frozen five years ago.

The Ottos paid $155,000 in a San Francisco biotech firm's dog-cloning auction last July.

BioArts International created Lancelot Encore in South Korea, where he was born 10 weeks ago. The Ottos say he's the first single-birth, commercially cloned puppy in the United States.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,484148,00.html

DIRTIEST HOTELS IN AMERICA 2009 TOPPER HOTEL CARTER

Times Square's Hotel Carter tops list of dirtiest hotels in America

Bed bugs? Check. Filthy hallways? Check. A body under a bed? Yup, this hotel has had that, too.

The Hotel Carter was named the dirtiest hotel in America Tuesday by TripAdvisor.com, marking the third time in four years that the W. 43rd St. dump has topped the list.

“I think it would have been cleaner to sleep on the street,” reads one of the many unflattering reviews on the online travel guide’s Web site.

Visitors had to go no farther than the Carter’s vast lobby to get a sense for why the hotel, in the shadow of Times Square, earned its dubious rank.

A steady stream of water poured from the mirrored ceiling into an array of garbage cans arranged below.

“It’s a minor problem — that’s all,” a security guard said.

It was serious enough to help dissuade at least one pair of tourists from bedding down there.

“I wouldn’t stay here — no way,” said Quita Jones, a 20-year-old from Cincinnati, who stopped into the hotel with a friend to check its rates.

Jones said she was stunned at the price — $130 a night — given the hotel’s condition.

“It should be $30 a night,” she said as she pointed toward the leaky mess. “Look at it.”

The hotel, used as a homeless shelter in the 1980s, gained infamy two years ago when a cleaning lady found a woman’s corpse stuffed under a bed.

A 17th-floor room rented by the Daily News was thankfully corpse-free. And while it was small and sparsely appointed, it wasn’t dirty. The bathroom was nearly spotless and the bed linens unstained.

The room’s most serious flaw was a lone picture frame, covered in a substance one can only hope was mildew. In the hallway outside, a garbage bag filled with used tissues, lay open on the dark-green carpet.

The hotel’s wretched reputation wasn’t news to one worker.

“Just Google ‘Carter and bed bugs.’ You’ll read all about it,” she said. “Roaches, bugs — you’ll find everything inside here.”

Hotel manager Erwin Lumanglas brushed aside its reputation.

“We are not bothered at all,” Lumanglas said. “Even when they tell us we’re the dirtiest hotel in the world, people are still interested in coming because of the price and the location.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/01/27/2009-01-27_times_squares_hotel_carter_tops_list_of_.html

Top 10 Filthiest U.S. Hotels Identified Based on Traveler Cleanliness Ratings
	Hotel Carter Once Again Takes the Crumb-y Cake
TripAdvisor(R), the world's largest travel community, today announced the top 10 dirtiest hotels in America based on TripAdvisor traveler ratings for cleanliness. True to TripAdvisor's promise to deliver the whole truth about travel-the good, the bad, and the ugly-TripAdvisor has identified the 10 dirtiest hotels in the U.S. for the fourth year running. 2009's Top 10 Dirtiest Hotels in the U.S. 1. Hotel Carter, New York, New York 2. Continental Bayside Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida 3. New York Inn, New York, New York 4. Eden Roc Motel, Wildwood, New Jersey 5. Days Inn Cleveland Airport, Brook Park, Ohio 6. Days Inn Airport/ Stadium Tampa, Tampa, Florida 7. Travelodge Bangor, Bangor, Maine 8. Velda Rose Resort Hotel, Hot Springs, Arkansas 9. Ramada Plaza Hotel JFK International Airport, Jamaica, New York 10. Days Inn & Suites Gatlinburg, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

The sour cream once again rises to the top, as this is the Hotel Carter's fourth year sullying the list, and its third year of having the dubious distinction of topping it. The Hotel Carter just barely missed a not-so-clean sweep, finishing #2 in 2007. The New York Inn has besmirched the list three times, and the Eden Roc Motel has made this list twice in the crusty compilation's four year history.

Three of the grimiest hotels this year come from greater New York City.

Here are some choice comments from recent TripAdvisor traveler reviews on the dirtiest hotels:

Hotel Carter:

"I think it would have been cleaner to sleep on the street."

"I have traveled extensively, domestically and abroad, and I have never encountered such a dirty and substandard hotel, to the point that I was concerned for my health."

"It should be shut down by the board of health."

Continental Bayside Hotel:

"Rooms were filthy, walls were smeared with unknown substance, furniture was broken and damaged, showerhead was rusty."

"Truly disgusting hotel! I'd rather sleep in my car!"

"One bed had blood on the sheets, other body fluids smeared on the windows, exposed wires, extremely poor service."

New York Inn:

"Roaches everywhere! One so big he could have helped me bring my suitcase upstairs, and the room and washroom were full of them as well!"

"The room had numerous holes in the wall covered by tape, the wallpaper was coming off the walls and you could not see out the windows due to the mold."

"The bedding was horrendous, all sorts of indefinable stains, both on the synthetic bedspread and sheets, which were by the way never changed during our entire eight nights stay."

Eden Roc Motel:

"Pure filth. Do not stay here, you're better served by sleeping in your car or sleeping underneath the boardwalk."

"The room we checked in smelled like CAT URINE and the air conditioner didn't work."

"Paint was chipping from the walls and the carpets were filthy! The air conditioner blew warm mildew-smelling air."

Days Inn Cleveland Airport:

"My blanket had cigarette holes in it. The sheets were too small for the bed and barely fit around the bed corners. The rug was filthy."

"The bathroom was unsuitable for bathing. I asked for a cloth to clean the bathroom myself, PLEASE NOTE: I ASKED TO CLEAN THE BATHROOM MYSELF, and was denied any cleaning cloth or soap to do so."

"Tiles falling down, broken windows, stained carpet, dirty bed sheets and towels. Completely disgusting."

Days Inn Airport / Stadium Tampa:

"Wouldn't put my worst enemy in this filthy motel."

"With growing horror I peeled back each layer and found more and more bugs on the sheets, on the mattress pad and on the mattress itself."

"My room, directly across from the pool is covered in hair, stains, smells and colors on the sheets, blankets, carpet and curtains."

Travelodge Bangor:

"The room was so musty that you could hardly catch your breath when you first got in."

"The place was disgusting. It was one of those places where you sleep with one eye open."

"If you are reading the previous reviews thinking 'it can't be that bad' - it is."

Velda Rose Resort Hotel:

"The floor was damp and the bathroom had water on the floor and we never found out where it was coming from."

"Upon arriving at the hotel, you can feel the moisture in the air and the smell of mildew. I even found a roach in my room."

"There were holes in the roof with leaking pipes and the stairwells were filthy. There were dirty sheets in our bedroom and no towels to take showers."

Ramada Plaza Hotel JFK International Airport:

"The bugs had a better meal at this place than we did."

"The first room we were given literally smelled like raw sewage. As soon as we opened the door, we were hit with the odor. I actually gagged."

"Our room was recently renovated - if you consider 30 plus years recent! I felt like I needed another shower after using the one in our room. Disgusting!"

Days Inn & Suites Gatlinburg:

"Where are the suites? Maybe the roaches took them."

"The room was a disaster! The carpets were soiled terribly, worn, and had cigarette burns."

"We woke up the next morning to visitors. Our room was infested with ants... I mean they were all over the place. It was awful. We even brought a bunch back home in our suit case."

"We're running out of new ways to describe the Hotel Carter and other culprits on this list," said Michele Perry, vice president of global communications for TripAdvisor. "Fortunately, our millions of travelers have not, and have PLENTY of dirty laundry to air about these disturbingly offensive hotels."

http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article36756.html

'SLUTS OF JONESBORO' Video=Dance Team Suspension

Jonesboro High dance team disbanded after provocative routine

The Jonesboro High School dance team has been suspended for the year after students danced provocatively at a school basketball game.

Clayton County school officials have barred the eight-member dance team from practicing or performing this year, said Jacqueline Evans, a spokeswoman for the district.

Parents complained the girls danced inappropriately at halftime during a Jan. 13 basketball game. A video posted on YouTube showed the girls in thigh-high stockings, tiny shorts and tight shirts dancing on chairs during portions of their routine.

The video, titled “The Sluts of Jonesboro,” has since been taken down. Evans said she didn’t know anything about the video.

“The team will not perform for the remainder of the year, nor will they represent the school in any other performances,” Evans said Tuesday.

School staff investigated the dance and disbanded the team three days later, Evans said. The girls were not disciplined.

The school’s step team will perform at halftime for the remainder of the basketball season. However, all routines must be screened by staff before the performance, Evans said.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/01/27/jonesboro_high_dancers.html

IRS TAX REFUND PHISHING SCAM ALERT

Fresh Wave Of IRS Tax Refund Phishing

There seem to be quite a few sites online at present claiming they can give you "online tax refunds", if only you fill in your bank details and click "submit". It's not a good idea, and they look pretty convincing:

Some of these domains have been up and down since last night, but I expect some of them will return again so here they are in full:

gicrisis.org/data/refundtax/SearchTAXERR.php

irs-2009.com/refund/refunds.html

collectrefund-irs.com/refund/refunds.html

http://blog.spywareguide.com/2009/01/fresh-wave-of-irs-tax-refund-p.html

If you'd like a look at the email, to see if you've received a similar one, here is the email, in its entirety:

"After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have
determined that you are eligible to receive a Stimulus Payment.

Please submit the Stimulus Payment Online Form in order to process it.

A Stimulus Payment can be delayed for a variety of reasons.
For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

To submit your Stimulus Payment form, please download the document attached to your email.

Note: If filing or preparation fees were deducted from your 2007 Refund or you received a refund anticipation loan, you will be receiving a check instead of a direct deposit.

Regards,
Internal Revenue Service"

Once again, the IRS has confirmed this email is a scam, and advise people not to respond.

http://www.wktv.com/news/local/38449439.html

BARACK OBAMA STIMULUS PACKAGE SOCIALISM DEBATE

Obama Stimulus Package Really Socialism?

Everyone else is talking about what's in the $825 billion stimulus package, but here's the one thing I want to know: How can we let the government get away with calling it a "stimulus" in the first place?

Let's break down the numbers on this with the help of those non-partisan, radical hate-mongers over at the Congressional Budget Office.

According to the CBO, only $26 billion — just over 3 percent — will be spent this year. Another $110 billion — or 13 percent — will be spent next year. Which means that by the time President Obama's term is halfway through, just 16 percent of the money will have been spent.

I thought President Obama said this is supposed to be a quick "jolt" to the economy?

The president has also billed the stimulus as an investment in America's infrastructure. And if that were true, I'd be all for it. I mean, I-95 here on the East Coast isn't exactly the autobahn. Yet only 3 percent — just $30 billion — of this entire package is dedicated to road and highway spending.

Then you have the promise about creating "green jobs" and clean energy.

Again, you want to seriously get wind and solar and nuclear power off the ground, I'm in. But this isn't serious. Only 2 percent of the money is earmarked for clean energy and only 1/7th of that will be spent over the next 2 years.

The CBO tells us that billions of dollars are going to buy new computers and replace government cars with new alternative fuel vehicles. In all, the money is going to 150 different federal programs — from Amtrak to the TSA — and it's not clear a single new job will be created.

America, let's call a spade a spade: This package isn't meant to stimulate the economy, it's meant to reshape it.

If President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the progressives really believe that socialism is the best way out of this mess and the best way forward for America, then make the case. Let's debate it and allow the American people to decide.

But what they're doing now — using fear to promote long-term changes to the country — is exactly the kind of thing that has led to the biggest deficit of all: The deficit of trust we now have in our leaders.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,483345,00.html

PETA SUPERBOWL AD VIDEO BANNED 4 VEGGIE SEX!

NBC has rejected a Super Bowl ad from animal rights organization PETA due to its hypersexualized nature: NBC pulled the plug on a PETA pro-veggie commercial planned for the Super Bowl because it "depicts a level of sexuality exceeding our standards," according to NBC Universal's advertising standards executive, Victoria Morgan. The ad, which carries the tagline, "Studies Show Vegetarians Have Better Sex," shows lingerie-clad stunners getting "intimate" with vegetables.

One shot depicts an actress "rubbing [her] pelvic region with pumpkin." Says a PETA rep: "PETA's veggie ads are locked out, while ads for fried chicken and burgers are allowed, even though these foods make Americans fat, sick and boring in bed."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/27/petas-veggie-sex-super-bo_n_161180.html

MELODY MORALES TIMES SQUARE BIKINI Restaurant-Right 'ASSETS',Wrong 'ACCENT'

Former Hooters girl Melody Morales sues Hawaiian Tropic Zone for discrimination

Melody Morales poses in a bikini.

A former Hooters girl who says she's got the right assets - but the wrong accent - is suing the Hawaiian Tropic Zone for crushing her dream of working as one of its bikini-clad beauties.

Melody Morales said she was rejected for a job by a manager at the Times Square restaurant who griped, "You don't speak white" and "you are ghetto."

The 21-year-old Latina lovely is the latest woman to sue over working conditions at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone, where employees in skimpy beachwear parade nightly before diners.

"Not to brag, but I look good in a bikini," Morales said Tuesday. "I could have done a perfect job there."

The suit says Morales went with her mother to the restaurant last March in search of a job. It claims a manager told her to get lost, saying, "I am not going to ruin my business with your Latin accent."

Morales, who said her dream job is to pour drinks while strutting her stuff in a bikini, returned to the Hawaiian Tropic Zone months later still in pursuit of a position.

Her suits says another manager instantly rejected her, telling her, "We will not hire you because you have a speech problem," and "You have a Latin accent."

"It is 100% illegal to discriminate because of where you're from or because you have an accent," said her lawyer, Derek Smith. "Melody certainly has the assets for this job."

Morales, who sports an ample 34-D cup size, said she was appalled.

"They never even looked at me in a bikini," she whimpered.

A lawyer for the Riese Organization, which operates the Hawaiian Tropic Zone, said the suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, is "without merit."

"We are proud of the many Latino and Latina employees in our diverse workforce," said James Rosenzweig.

The restaurant that bills itself as "The Hottest Place on Earth" is facing a $600 million federal suit from four former female workers accusing an ex-boss of sickening sexual antics.

"I believe everything they're saying," Morales said.

Morales, who is of mixed Dominican and Puerto Rican background, works at a bikini bar in Westchester County.

"It was kind of like my dream to work at the [Hawaiian Tropic Zone]," she said. "It's the bikini, I guess."

The restaurant is spread across three floors and 16,000 square feet. It features a two-story waterfall, a setting that "tantalizes the senses" and menu items such as hung barbecue ribs and crispy chicken lollipops.

On its Web site, the restaurant features pictures of several of its sexy staff, which include a go-go dancer from Russia, a hostess from Nigeria and a bartender from Puerto Rico.

But Morales said the place has no room for someone with her accent.

"I guess they want their girls to speak white," she said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/01/27/2009-01-27_former_hooters_girl_melody_morales_sues_.html

AFRICAN ARMYWORM CATERPILLAR Force LIBERIA Emergency

Armyworms ravage Liberia

Fully grown armyworms can consume a crop field in a matter of days Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has declared a state of emergency in response to a plague of crop-destroying armyworms. Farmers in Kenya and Tanzania have also suffered outbreaks in recent years. So what, if anything, can be done to help in the long term? What exactly are armyworms? The menace known as the "African armyworm" is in fact a caterpillar. During the rainy season, the insects emerge in sudden swarms and rapidly devour crops such as maize, sorghum, millet, rice and sugar cane. The pest gets its moniker from its habit of "marching" in large numbers into crop fields. Like locusts, armyworms appear in huge numbers, ravage farms, and then move on once fields are barren. They also cause disease, as their faeces enters rivers and streams can contaminate drinking water supplies. Where did they come from? The armyworms are the larvae of nocturnal moths, of the species Spodoptera exempta. During the rainy seasons, the moths spread and begin laying eggs in grasses and food crops. Each female lays between 500 and 1,000 eggs in her 10-day lifetime. The moths are capable of long-distance migration - more than 100km (60 miles) per night - allowing the swarms to spread rapidly. Once hatched, the larvae migrate through grasslands in snake-like colonies. On reaching crop fields, they begin feasting. At full size (5cm - 2in) the caterpillars can lay waste to whole farms within days. They then simply move on to the next available target. How serious is the outbreak in Liberia? The last time swarms attacked on this scale in Liberia was in the late 1970s. The losses could cause serious food shortages. Liberia is already heavily dependent on imported rice to feed its 3.5 million citizens. The government says it cannot cope with the scale of the outbreak and has called in the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to help. To make matters worse, the worms are now spreading to neighbouring Guinea and towards Sierra Leone. In recent years there have also been major outbreaks in Tanzania and Kenya. Can anything be done to halt their march? At present, the best weapon against the pest is to spray crops with chemical insecticides. The bugs are among the world's most destructive agricultural pests These are too expensive for most farmers, so the government is stepping in and calling for international assistance, to begin aerial crop spraying. Forecasting systems do exist in some African countries, to warn farmers about possible outbreaks in time to spray crops, where they can afford to. But these warnings do not always work because attacks often affect isolated communities that are difficult to contact. A more radical approach to prevention - a virus known as NPV - is being investigated by researchers from the UK, Canada and Tanzania. The naturally occurring virus is specifically lethal to army worms, but it appears too late in most years to prevent them causing serious crop damage. Scientists hope to study and harness the virus, to create an effective pest control technique. Their goal is to create a pesticide which will be harmless to humans and other wildlife, but will destroy army worms and thus keep Africa's staple food crops intact.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7854126.stm

SNOW STORM WEATHER EMERGENCY ALERT

Storm may leave thousands in darkness for days

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Utilities beefed up emergency crews and road workers fought to clear ice and fallen tree limbs Wednesday as a winter storm barreled into the Northeast, while officials in areas already hit hard warned it may be days before some shivering communities have electricity again.

The storm has been blamed for at least 19 deaths from the southern Plains to the East Coast as a glaze of ice and snow cut power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses. Hundreds of schools closed and government offices were shuttered.

With more than a foot of snow forecast for New Hampshire, the Legislature canceled Wednesday's sessions. In Louisville, Ky., the mayor delayed opening government offices until 10 a.m. and urged businesses to follow suit.

Tree limbs encased in ice tumbled onto roads and crashed onto power lines in hard-hit Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma. In Arkansas — where ice in some places was 3 inches thick — people huddled next to portable heaters and wood-burning fires as utilities warned electricity may be out for days.

"We fully expect this to be one of the largest outages we've ever had," said Mel Coleman, CEO of the North Arkansas Electric Cooperative in Salem. "Right now, we're just hoping it's days and not weeks."

Ice storms overnight in West Virginia knocked out power to thousands more. American Electric Power reported more than 40,000 outages early Wednesday. Many other utilities struggled to keep up as ice accumulated on power lines and tree branches.

"Lines are still breaking," said John Campbell, the operations chief for Missouri's State Emergency Management Agency. "All the reports we are getting is they are losing the battle right now just because precipitation is still falling."

In Kentucky, state highway workers struggled throughout the night to clear debris from impassable roads as rain and freezing rain continued to fall across the state. Kentucky National Guard soldiers helped remove trees from roads.

A spokesman for the state Division of Emergency Management, Buddy Rogers, says at least 174,000 customers across Kentucky were without power Wednesday morning.

Duke Energy called for reinforcements to keep up with power demands in Ohio, where some parts of the state were expected to receive anywhere from 6 inches to a foot of snow. Southern Ohio could get three-quarters of an inch of freezing rain that could solidify.

Universities including the main campuses of Ohio State University and Ohio University canceled Wednesday classes and dozens of school districts across the state also were closed, including the Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton public schools. Honda Motor Corp. canceled the first shift at its assembly plant in Marysville.

Pennsylvania was expecting 4 to 8 inches of snow in the state's north and snow turning to rain in the south. Schools canceled Wednesday classes in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and many districts in western Pennsylvania. Police also reported a slew of minor accidents throughout the state.

More than three dozen school districts in the suburbs north of New York City called off classes because of the storm, which was expected to dump up to 7 inches of snow along with some sleet and freezing rain. New York City was expected to get 2 to 4 inches of snow by the end of the day.

Maine officials made the decision to close dozens of schools before the first snowflake fell Wednesday as forecasters predicted as much as two feet of snow in parts of the state.

Winter storm warnings were posted for Wednesday from Arkansas to Maine, while ice storm warnings continued for parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Philadelphia could be coated in up to a half-inch of ice.

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry declared a statewide emergency Monday. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear did the same Tuesday in his state, where ice up to 1.5 inches thick weighed down tree limbs Tuesday and caused them to crash onto roadways.

"You hear the popping — it sounded like gunfire — and it's limbs from trees breaking," said Hopkins County, Ky., Judge-Executive Donald Carroll, who was among those with no power.

On Tuesday, West Virginia state offices shut down early after a 6-inch snowfall and forecasts of freezing rain and sleet, Arkansas state government offices opened two hours late, and all but essential state workers in Oklahoma were told to stay home.

Road crews in some states had a hard time keeping up with the pace of falling snow.

"The Division of Highways is knocking their socks off trying to keep the roads sort of clear," said Paul Howard, director of operations for the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Students were to be kept home again Wednesday in parts of West Virginia, a day after all 55 counties closed schools.

"Playing in the snow is pretty much the thing to do today," said Sarah Bonham, a student at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va.

Since the storm began building on Monday, the weather had been blamed for five deaths in Texas, three in Arkansas, three in Virginia, five in Missouri, two in Oklahoma and one in Indiana.

In Charleston, the Postal Service asked residents to remove snow and ice around their mailboxes out of safety concerns for mail carriers. In Oklahoma City, a postal worker fell on a patch of ice and hit her head while delivering mail Monday and was hospitalized in critical condition.

Associated Press writers Daniel Shea in Little Rock, Ark.; Justin Juozapavicius in Tulsa, Okla.; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City; Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Ky.; Kantele Franko in Columbus, Ohio; Jim Salter in St. Louis; and Randall Dickerson in Nashville, Tenn., and editor Roger Petterson in New York contributed to this report.

The FUNNIEST Complaint Letter EVER-To VIRGIN BOSS!

The best complaint letter ever?

Tue Jan 27 03:01PM

This is a letter recently received by the Virgin Atlantic customer complaints team and is currently being hailed on news blogs, such as this one on The Telegraph as possibly the funniest customer complaint letter ever.

We called the Virgin Atlantic press office and they confirmed they received the letter and that Richard Branson himself called the author to thank him for the feedback.

Here's the letter.

Dear Mr Branson

REF: Mumbai to Heathrow 7th December 2008

I love the Virgin brand, I really do which is why I continue to use it despite a series of unfortunate incidents over the last few years. This latest incident takes the biscuit.

Ironically, by the end of the flight I would have gladly paid over a thousand rupees for a single biscuit following the culinary journey of hell I was subjected to at the hands of your corporation.

Look at this Richard. Just look at it:

I imagine the same questions are racing through your brilliant mind as were racing through mine on that fateful day. What is this? Why have I been given it? What have I done to deserve this? And, which one is the starter, which one is the desert?

You don't get to a position like yours Richard with anything less than a generous sprinkling of observational power so I KNOW you will have spotted the tomato next to the two yellow shafts of sponge on the left. Yes, it's next to the sponge shaft without the green paste. That's got to be the clue hasn't it. No sane person would serve a desert with a tomato would they. Well answer me this Richard, what sort of animal would serve a desert with peas in:

I know it looks like a baaji but it's in custard Richard, custard. It must be the pudding. Well you'll be fascinated to hear that it wasn't custard. It was a sour gel with a clear oil on top. It's only redeeming feature was that it managed to be so alien to my palette that it took away the taste of the curry emanating from our miscellaneous central cuboid of beige matter. Perhaps the meal on the left might be the desert after all.

Anyway, this is all irrelevant at the moment. I was raised strictly but neatly by my parents and if they knew I had started desert before the main course, a sponge shaft would be the least of my worries. So lets peel back the tin-foil on the main dish and see what's on offer.

I'll try and explain how this felt. Imagine being a twelve year old boy Richard. Now imagine it's Christmas morning and you're sat their with your final present to open. It's a big one, and you know what it is. It's that Goodmans stereo you picked out the catalogue and wrote to Santa about.

Only you open the present and it's not in there. It's your hamster Richard. It's your hamster in the box and it's not breathing. That's how I felt when I peeled back the foil and saw this:

Now I know what you're thinking. You're thinking it's more of that Baaji custard. I admit I thought the same too, but no. It's mustard Richard. MUSTARD. More mustard than any man could consume in a month. On the left we have a piece of broccoli and some peppers in a brown glue-like oil and on the right the chef had prepared some mashed potato. The potato masher had obviously broken and so it was decided the next best thing would be to pass the potatoes through the digestive tract of a bird.

Once it was regurgitated it was clearly then blended and mixed with a bit of mustard. Everybody likes a bit of mustard Richard.

By now I was actually starting to feel a little hypoglycaemic. I needed a sugar hit. Luckily there was a small cookie provided. It had caught my eye earlier due to it's baffling presentation:

It appears to be in an evidence bag from the scene of a crime. A CRIME AGAINST BLOODY COOKING. Either that or some sort of back-street underground cookie, purchased off a gun-toting maniac high on his own supply of yeast. You certainly wouldn't want to be caught carrying one of these through customs. Imagine biting into a piece of brass Richard. That would be softer on the teeth than the specimen above.

I was exhausted. All I wanted to do was relax but obviously I had to sit with that mess in front of me for half an hour. I swear the sponge shafts moved at one point.

Once cleared, I decided to relax with a bit of your world-famous onboard entertainment. I switched it on:

I apologise for the quality of the photo, it's just it was incredibly hard to capture Boris Johnson's face through the flickering white lines running up and down the screen. Perhaps it would be better on another channel:

Is that Ray Liotta? A question I found myself asking over and over again throughout the gruelling half-hour I attempted to watch the film like this. After that I switched off. I'd had enough. I was the hungriest I'd been in my adult life and I had a splitting headache from squinting at a crackling screen.

My only option was to simply stare at the seat in front and wait for either food, or sleep. Neither came for an incredibly long time. But when it did it surpassed my wildest expectations:

Yes! It's another crime-scene cookie. Only this time you dunk it in the white stuff.

Richard.... What is that white stuff? It looked like it was going to be yoghurt. It finally dawned on me what it was after staring at it. It was a mixture between the Baaji custard and the Mustard sauce. It reminded me of my first week at university. I had overheard that you could make a drink by mixing vodka and refreshers. I lied to my new friends and told them I'd done it loads of times. When I attempted to make the drink in a big bowl it formed a cheese Richard, a cheese. That cheese looked a lot like your baaji-mustard.

So that was that Richard. I didn't eat a bloody thing. My only question is: How can you live like this? I can't imagine what dinner round your house is like, it must be like something out of a nature documentary.

As I said at the start I love your brand, I really do. It's just a shame such a simple thing could bring it crashing to it's knees and begging for sustenance.

Yours Sincererly...

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/blog/editors_corner/article/11975/

Democrats Launch Petition Against RUSH LIMBAUGH - 'I HOPE OBAMA FAILS' angers Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee