Loralee Reach

Dire Straits Keyboardist Calls Canada's 'Money for Nothing' Ban 'Hilarious' Ian Gavan Dire Straits keyboardist Guy Fletcher responded Thursday (Jan. 13) on his official site regarding the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council's decision earlier this week to remove the English band's hit song 'Money for Nothing' from the airwaves for a derogatory word in its lyrics. "Of course, it's hilarious," Fletcher ? using the moniker "Dr Fletch" -- said of the decision, later describing the official ruling as "unbelievable" and "WHAT a waste of paper." Another fan on his message board described it as "political correctness gone mad," which Fletcher replied with "Faggots for brains." In the CBSC ruling, the song -- played on rock radio and classic rock stations since 1985 -- was deemed to violate the code of ethics due to the word "faggot" heard three separate times. A listener filed a complaint after hearing the unedited, unabridged version on Newfoundland radio station CHOZ-FM last February. The complainant described the song as "extremely offensive" and added that "there is absolutely no valid reason for such discriminatory marks to be played on-air." The station responded on March 4, arguing that because the song's original version was "regarded by many as an historically successful and essential rock hit in that form with these particular lyrics, management chose in this specific instance to retain the authenticity of the selection." The complainant responded to the station's letter, stating their dissatisfaction with the response and feeling the unabridged version "is certainly not strong enough to justify playing such words on the radio." In another reply to a fan's post Fletcher revealed that "[frontman] Mark [Knopfler] tells me that due to the ban, he has now substituted the word faggot for 'fudger'... for Canada." He also described one paragraph in a Toronto newspaper article as being a "complete fabrication." The paragraph in question described how Knopfler continued performing the song in concerts over the years but substituted different words for the word in question. Watch Dire Straits Perform an Edited Version of 'Money for Nothing' However, Knopfler has indeed changed the song's lyrics at times in concert. A performance of 'Money for Nothing' from Knebworth in 1990 has him substituting the word in question with "queenie," "mama" and "trucker." Knopfler has made no official comment regarding the Canadian ruling. According to a report by the Edmonton Sun, one classic rock radio station in Edmonton -- K-97 FM -- has decided to play the unedited version of the song Friday evening repeatedly for one hour to support freedom of speech.

pm me. I can give you some addresses. Loralee

if a word is in the dictionary it can be used.....however this is not about a word....this is about art (if rock music enters in the definition) and the misinterpretation of lyrics directed to a "rock star" by blue collar guys who obviously were not in his league. Remember than even the word God is banned from some places, but the concept of God is not; same with the rest. As a society is difficult to please everyone...I guess? LoraLee

Canada Bans Dire Straits' "Money For Nothing" for Being Too Offensive. No, I'm Not Kidding Matt Welch | January 13, 2011 The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has ruled that Dire Straits' 1980s hit Money for Nothing is too offensive for Canadian radio. The ruling, released Wednesday, was in response to a complaint against St. John's radio station CHOZ-FM. The listener complained that the word faggot ? which appears three times in the song is "extremely offensive" to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. The council is an independent body created by Canadian radio and television broadcasters to review the standards of their content. [...] The council ruled that the song contravenes its ethics code which states: "broadcasters shall ensure that their programming contains no abusive or unduly discriminatory material or comment which is based on matters of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status or physical or mental disability.": It ruled that "faggot," when used to describe a homosexual, is "even if entirely or marginally acceptable in earlier days, is no longer so."

Hey gorgeous....that is 360 some days!!!! I am sure is more to come..... All the best to you Loralee

Japan PM's wife 'would not marry him again' By BBC News Nobuko Kan, the Japanese prime minister's wife, has an unusually tough love for her husband The wife of Japan's Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, has said she would not marry him again in another life. Nobuko Kan said she would want to do something completely different if she had another chance to choose. She is renowned for pulling few punches, and her husband has called her his toughest critic. She is famous in Japan for her elegant kimonos - and sharp tongue. The prime minister once described her as his opposition at home. Speaking to reporters in Tokyo she said she regularly scolded him. "I've already lived this life once. It would not be interesting to do the same thing again. "I would rather live a totally different life," she said. Mr Kan took office in June but his public support has already slumped. He is in the process of reshuffling the cabinet to head off an opposition threat to paralyse government business. The prime minister's wife said she supported him by giving him such a tough time at home, and that he preferred going to parliament for question time. "My husband sometimes says to me: 'I really hate going to the Diet because everyone is so mean and critical, but it's a lot easier being subjected to this criticism at the Diet than fighting at home with you'," she said. "That's a way to get him out of the house and go to the Diet, so maybe that's the way I can support him." Mrs Kan has turned the Japanese tradition of publicly downplaying the achievements of loved ones into something of an art form. Last year she wrote a book called What on Earth will change in Japan now you are Prime Minister, describing him as a hopeless cook who lacked dress sense and leadership skills. She also revealed she had packed only summer clothes when they moved into the prime minister's residence in case he was rapidly ejected.

I have been looking at them and am curious if they are nice?????? Loralee

Thanks dear friend....I also know about it and that is why I posted it.....Love my high heels!!!! Hugs and kisses to you Lovely Dorinda! Loralee

Part I High Heels: 4 Inches Closer to Heaven by Arielle Abeyta "To be carried by shoes, winged by them. To wear dreams on one's feet is to begin to give reality to one's dreams." -Roger Vivier Shoes of every make and style are loved by women across the globe but it is the heel, whether stiletto or platform that is coveted, adored, desired in such abundance simply in and of the shoe itself. They're everywhere. They run rampant in books, calendars, photographs, album and movie covers, dangling in miniature precious metal versions from earlobes and chains, women's closets and even their living rooms, and let's not forget their most important place of residence- women's feet. They're a constant obsession in pop culture, endlessly talked about and fetishized in television, movies, song lyrics, and seem to be worn without fail by glamorous celebrities no matter the occasion. The most notorious of the shoe loving pop culture media is of the smash HBO series Sex and the City, in which shoes are one of its main themes. What's in a shoe? Perhaps it was originally intended to protect one's feet from the elements but today the shoe has evolved from its practical origins to grandiose heights, and at the highest level is of course, the high heel. Heels are not something one simply wears on their feet, but a passion, hobby, personal expression, source of authority, sexual independence, staple of gendered feminine culture, mark of flaunted femininity, psychologically empowering, and joy. Women choose to wear high heels for many reasons; the key is that they indeed are the ones who proactively choose to endorse the high heel, often at the expense of their own physical comfort. High heels have long been stigmatized as a crippling mechanism of the ever present and detrimental patriarchy. As a system of values, categorizations, lateral and vertical hierarchies, oppression, subordination, presentation and performance overlaying American society, meanings are infused in every aspect of life. It appears impossible to escape misogynistic values but as Judith Butler writes, "The law might not only be refused, but it might also be ruptured, forced into a rearticulation that calls into question the monotheistic force of its own unilateral operation." (Butler, 122) In other words, never underestimate the "range of disobedience;" (Butler, 122) because the possibilities of rejecting domination are endless. The significance of shoes, feet and high heels have a history of masculine power and female fetishization. Opponents of the high heel often call upon fascist beauty standards and self destructive desires to please men as the culprits responsible for causing women to don back breaking heels which limit mobility and cause extreme physical harm not only to the feet but also the knees and back. However, high heels are most often learned in a matrilineal context; whether one learns to wear them from watching and/or hearing their mother, their favorite actress or pop culture in general, the appreciation is taught by women. It is a conscientious decision made by women to participate in a crafted female culture. Little girls emulate their mothers and role models and the guiding women in their life, friends or relatives teach them. High heels are a way of passing on "the feminine" as a learned process. Harmful footwear being perpetuated by women is nothing new; it can be seen in other cultures. Most notorious is Chinese foot binding in which it was seen as a rite of passage. Between the ages of 3 and 8, girls underwent "gin lien" in which, according to tradition, a mother gave her daughter a pedicure then folded the four toes forward and under the arch, bound them, only to unbind them thereafter to bath and bandage them further and tighter to the hopeful form of the rare and glorified three inch "golden lotus." (O'Keefe, 405) In Western society high heels are also damaging if worn frequently and like Chinese foot binding are self inflicted within the feminine realm. Speaking of the high heel and specifically the stiletto, Caroline Cox, author Stiletto, says, "Not for nothing do we refer to stilettos as killer heels. These are shoes that blatantly contravene the original purpose of footwear: to protect the feet and aid mobility." (Cox, Instyle Magazine) There are earlier records of high heel shoes that served a practical function such as heeled boots horse riders wore to grip their stirrups better. However, 1533 was the year that gave birth to the high heel that served no purpose other than beauty and vanity. Catherine de Medicis, aged 15, brought them with her from Florence to the French court when she wed the Duke d'Orleans where they were eagerly embraced by Parisian noblewomen. Up until the 1700s, the five inch heel was most popular amongst European women. However, when the French monarchy fell, so did the height of shoes. From then on heels rose and fell depending on current fashions and politics. The high heel returned to dominate fashion in the middle of the 1900s and in 1988 America's first heel factory opened, allowing for easier access and availability. However, the 1950's ushered in the era of the stiletto. O'Keeffe says, "Of all the miracles of modern shoe technology, the stiletto may stand as the greatest." The architecture is such that a woman's weight is balanced on a heel the size of a pencil. While high heels have remained popular, in the last half century they have been a controversial topic. Many second wave feminists rejected standards of "feminine beauty," denouncing what they saw as women, "being forced, by social and mass media representations controlled by men, to see themselves in fragments through male eyes." High heels came under attack along with many other gendered aesthetic objects at this time. However, in the eighties high heels were reclaimed in the name of personal choice and woman's empowerment. "Dressing up, grooming, and playing around with identity could not be regarded as a response to oppression or the 'male gaze' when sisters said they were doing it for themselves. It was at this time that women really began to conscientiously reclaim the "feminine" as a personal and even rebellious decision. Nancy Friday, author of The Power of Beauty, writes, "We do it for the image in the mirror, the reflection of ourselves as hot and in charge, an extraordinarily satisfying goal that we can live with more happily than with a man; who needs him?" Today the arguments surrounding high heels fluctuate depending on style and popularity. Much of the intense debate around high heels is generated by the harmful effects of high heels and especially the stiletto. More and more studies emerge everyday with resounding voices saying that shoes are physically detrimental. Foot doctors say that continual use of high heels with narrow toe space can actually lead to foot deformities. A clinical professor of orthopedics, Michael J. Coughlin says, "The deformities that often develop after years of wearing high-fashion pumps are similar to foot problems that were formerly seen in Chinese women whose feet had been bound." Additionally, long time wear of high heels is also being linked to knee arthritis in women, and most recently, back problems. Women receive 90% of foot surgeries performed in the United States. Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex and the City says "You have to learn how to wear his (Manolo Blahnik) shoes ? it doesn't happen overnight... I've destroyed my feet completely, but I don't care. What do you really need your feet for, anyway?" While health issues may be the immediate issue of high heel detractors, another is mobility. "A feminine shoe imposes a new problem of grace and self consciousness on what otherwise would be a simple act of locomotion, and in this artful handicap lies its subjugation and supposed charm. Whether nine inch heels preferred by strippers or three inch "kitten heels" being worn by teenage girls, they reduce mobility and physical ease to varying degrees. The dangers are many; everything from side walk grating, stairs, slick floors, any speed faster than a leisure pace, any distance longer than a ten minute stroll, to the impossibility of crossing a lawn without sinking and being left to yank leg while balancing on the ball of the other sinking foot. High heels are the most challenging shoes one can wear if walking is the objective.

Some of you know me and others don't yet, but I guess my threads are a little window into myself. For the last couple of months I have played a game with myself and I called it "the bouncer effect". I play it this way: When I see, hear or witness some unfortunate event (be it a rude person, a bad action or simply a piece of news that has the potential to spoil my day), I look immediately for a positive, charming, gentle person or event. I have been more or less succesful at not letting the "rotten spoil the healthy". Today I have not been able to shake off a person I saw driving and almost killing an old lady that was walking her dog with the help of a three legged cane... She was not in the middle of the road...no sir...she was on the sidewalk. With one hand she held the leash very short for the animal not to wander too far from her, and the other hand on her cane and a bag for the scoop... A driver of a black Sebring coupe, not only ignored the Stop sign, but also look her way and yelled " you 're going to be killed" in a loud voice....I was on the corner waiting for my own dog to finish his business..... Now, all this was in a residential neighborhood, on an almost non-traffic street half a block from a small park..... I am still thinking of this cruel man and I wondered how many of you are having a great fire being put off by things like this.... Loralee

The Chlorine Conundrum: What's in Your Drinking Water? by Doug DiPasquale Jan 11th 2011 12:00PM A Spanish study published in 'Environmental Health Perspectives' has found large quantities of chlorine can actually cause DNA damage. And any time DNA suffers damage, the risk of mutations causing cancer is increased. Chlorine is extremely common as a disinfectant used to kill microbes in water for drinking and swimming. But when chlorine and other disinfectants combine with organic matter -- such as sweat, urine and skin cells -- the results are disinfection by-products (DBPs). DBPs have been linked to all sorts of adverse health effects in both humans and animals. So what do we do here? Chlorine is necessary to make sure no nasty pathogens are in our water supply and swimming pools, but their disinfectant action is causing compounds that can give us cancer. Do we really have to choose between water-borne illness and cancer? The simple answer is no. When it comes to swimming pools, there are a few different alternatives to chlorination that seem to be safer. Ozone use, while expensive, keeps your pool chemical-free. It involves installing a unit that injects ozone directly into the water. The ozone is then circulated through the pool filter, killing any pathogens it comes into contact with. And while salt water pools aren't completely chlorine-free, they are significantly reduced in their amount of chlorine. Salt is a natural preservative, killing pathogenic bacteria (this is why salt is used in preserving things like pickles and dried meats). Drinking water is a bigger issue. As I see it, the only answer, until a viable alternative to chlorine comes along, is to filter water at the end point -- your tap. The problem is figuring out which filter does the best job. Brita-style filter jugs, which use granulated carbon filters, remove some chlorine and probably remove some DBPs, but not much. I see these filters as the absolute minimum product we should all be using. A reverse osmosis filter (you can read more about them here) is probably the best bet, although it's not cheap. These filters pass the water through a membrane that filters out everything, but the water (including minerals). When using this style of filter, you should buy some remineralization drops from a health food store or where you bought your filter in order to add some of the good-for-you minerals back to the water -- like magnesium and calcium. Other options include water distillers and a wide array of different types of under-the-counter filtration units. We can have clean swimming and drinking water, but, unfortunately, it does take a little effort on our part. It costs a bit, but it's money well spent.

Last year I had an issue with a gentlemen who I did not know and he emailed me 10 minutes to the hour to confirm....I had it already filled up and he screamed (literally). Since then I waited for confirmations. From this moment on I wont wait and do as the other SP's do. I appreciated all of your advice and the gentlemen point of view is very valuable....Thanks Pete, we all know you are a gem! Loralee Hugs to all

It has happened several times and I wonder if there is a way out of those situations: I do not advertise often, only when a re-scheduling or cancellation occurs and I have available time. It happened this last Saturday when the weather did not help for a client who was coming from a long distance city to visit me. I placed an ad and I had a couple of responses asking for details. I answered and NEVER HEARD AGAIN A WORD. Of course, this is not new, I am sure other SP's have had the same issue and I would love to hear how they handle it. I just was waiting for an answer and did not want to respond to anyone else apart from these 2 gentlemen because I gave them the only 2 hours I had allocated for the day. If I entertained another request I would be in a situation that did not want to be: having the demand surpassing the availability of time. Of course, is Murphy's Law, and I had the other requests....I told those gentlemen that I did not have time. Results? none of my 2 hours were used. I guess good manners are in demand. Any input? I do not want to be accused of "emailing for services". Then, I did not address those men again asking them if they were coming or not. I just waited and wasted two hours. There is no need to mention names. It would be nice to hear some of your thoughts on this Thanks LoraLee

Great Post Roaming!! LoraLee;)

My mother had severe burns in an accident and NEVER Vaseline or any petroleum was used at the hospital, the burned tissue needs WATER, cold water, the colder one can take!

TORONTO - Flu activity is picking up in some parts of Canada, but the predominant strain in this country is H3N2 instead of the pandemic H1N1 virus that dominated the health-care scene a year ago. Dr. Irene Armstrong of Toronto Public Health says influenza appears to be hitting hard earlier this season in Toronto, compared to other regular non-pandemic flu years. The number of lab-confirmed cases so far is 515, she said, compared to an average of about 81 cases per year at this point from 2004-05 to 2008-09. Five deaths have been recorded. "We know our hospitals are busy," Armstrong said in an interview Tuesday. "We're seeing outbreaks in long-term care homes, and especially over the last couple of weeks." Outbreaks have been reported at long-term care facilities in Winnipeg and other centres as well, with would-be visitors warned to stay away if they're coughing and experiencing other flu symptoms. Dr. Ken Scott of the Public Health Agency of Canada said flu is fairly widespread in one region of Manitoba and there's localized activity in other parts of Manitoba, Alberta, Quebec and Nova Scotia. "We didn't have some reporting from some of the jurisdictions over the holiday season, but in the week just prior to that there was a fair bit of activity in the Windsor to Montreal corridor," noted Scott, senior medical adviser for Infectious Diseases and Prevention Control. Statistics compiled by the national agency as of Tuesday show 4,112 samples tested, with 927 showing up positive for flu. These don't necessarily include the most up-to-date numbers from the provinces and territories. Furthermore, Armstrong explained these would only be the "tip of the iceberg" and most cases are never lab-confirmed. Scott said the predominant strain in Canada and the United States is H3N2 influenza A, while H1N1 is "not a big player in Canada this year," representing less than 10 per cent of isolates. By comparison, Great Britain's flu activity is almost all the H1N1 pandemic strain, he said. Scott surmised it could be because their H1N1 vaccine uptake last year was about eight per cent, much less than the 45 per cent in Canada. He said the good news is that the flu shot this year can protect against both. But there are concerns in the health community that fewer people are opting for a flu shot this year. For example, Armstrong said 230,000 people were vaccinated with pandemic H1N1 vaccine at the city's public clinics last flu season from Oct. 26 to Jan. 31. This flu season, fewer than 26,000 people have received shots at the Toronto clinics, which is even down about 20 per cent from a regular seasonal flu year, she said. "There's certainly been a lot of speculation about people reflecting on their experience last year with the pandemic H1N1 influenza," she said, referring to widespread public education campaigns and media attention to flu shots a year ago. "We had a mild pandemic ... So I think it's sort of fallen off people's radar." Scott said H3N2 has a predilection for the young and the old, pregnant women and people who have underlying medical conditions. Flu seasons with H3N2 tend to cause more illnesses than the seasonal H1N1 (non-pandemic) virus, he noted, adding that weather could also be a factor in how the flu season goes. Scott said flu kills between 2,000 and 8,000 Canadians every year, and he recommended that everybody get a flu shot. Armstrong agreed, and both public health officials said the messages of the pandemic flu campaigns can help now, too. "If you're sick with flu symptoms, you should stay home from work or stay home from school," Armstrong advised. "You don't want to go out and risk infecting friends or co-workers or other people out in the community, so it's best to stay home and rest, really, and treat your symptoms." Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, extreme tiredness and cough.

Same as Apex...I thought someone called Glitch did something wrong..... May be is too early for me and Apex to open the forums.....ha, ha Loralee:bowdown:

What Defines the Contemporary ?Alpha Male? By Margaret Assuance and Charles Menses To start with, I?d like to go back to the origin of the term ?alpha male.? It is a biological designation given to the members of mammalian social communities with the highest reproductive success. It is perhaps most relevant when applied to canines and apes, highly social animals that have hierarchical social rankings that determine reproductive success. The alpha designation reaches its zenith of relevance in wolf packs, which are dominated by an alpha pair. In animals such as gorillas where one male has a harem, it is not as important because other males do not take on beta status so much as they go solo for a while. The most important characteristic of the alpha male is that other males are subservient to him. It is, in fact, his dominance over other males that ensures his reproductive success. However, here in our American human society, the term ?alpha male? has come to refer not so much to men with high status among other men as it has to refer to men with high status among women. I like to call it the ?boy band phenomenon?. It is probably no coincidence that the rise of the boy band emerged around the same time as the feminist movement. The Beatles, foppish adolescents when they first emerged on the scene in America, owed their massive celebrity status to their mainly adolescent female fans. There is no more accurate depiction of hysteria than the screams and expressions of teenage girls as they expressed their utter adulation of the Beatles. The power of that concentrated mass of female emotion is truly awesome, and I imagine even tough cops on the sidelines of the concert were intimidated by it. Prior to the emergence of pop culture as we know it today, high status males as portrayed in art were more stern, mature and often jaded. Their status derived from the grim struggles between men or charisma that won other men to their side. The same held true for politics, where the perfectly coiffed hair and boyish photo-ops of today were entirely unknown. This changed, of course, with JFK, again at precisely the same time pop culture and feminism emerged. So it seems that we have entered a new era, where men compete with each other indirectly, through winning the support of females. It is no longer so important that the men support another man ? it is the women who count. This is not unprecedented in the world. In fact, as recently as the 19th century the African kingdom of Dahomey was ruled by a chief who was supported by a corps of female warriors. They acted as his bodyguards and at times even as soldiers. Their job was to intimidate men and women alike. It is worth noting that the principle source of profit for the Dahomey was the capture and sale of slaves. Perhaps this is the penultimate expression of the ?big man? phenomenon. Naturally, the Dahomey kingdom eventually failed. In societies where the majority of men are subservient to a few males with high status amongst females, the men with high status amongst males can typically oust the lover boys through direct, man-to-man challenges. The Iliad itself chronicles the fiery destruction of Troy over the peccadillo of Paris, Helen?s handsome lover. The death of steadfast, loyal Hector, who is killed by a raging Achilles while defending his wayward brother, stands out as perhaps the most moving, tragic episode of the Iliad. It is even implied in Achilles? desecration of the dead warrior, despite his eventual contrition and the respect he pays to Priam, that Achilles? own, ignoble death from a sneaky bowshot by the cowardly Paris, was earned through his pride and lack of respect for manly virtue. It is the men who command the respect of men who prevail, while the young Paris, despite being an object of female adoration, brings about the destruction of his father?s kingdom. Similar stories are told in Chinese accounts of emperors who were great lovers, yet were ultimately overthrown by fierce warlords. In fact, excessive sensuality is held to be an ennervating trait by most civilized cultures. It is curious to see America, once a nation brimming with masculine vigor, genuflecting at the altar of feminine opinion. Could there have been a fundamental change in history due to technological progress and the increasing irrelevance of masculine traits? I doubt it. The mass of men, from ancient to modern times, have gone through cycles of freedom and slavery, and I suspect that it is the same process as ever that afflicts men today. When the burden grows too heavy, they turn then to the men who promise freedom, the ascetic warrior ideal once again grows mighty in the popular consciousness, and the sensuous lovers are thrown from their cushioned divans while their harems are divvied up amongst grim, hungry and loyal followers. A new set of ?alpha males? takes over, and in time the cycle begins anew.

Canadian Fans Deflated by World Juniors Loss Jan 6th 2011 ? 7:07AM Text Size :-( CBC News Canadian fans are expressing frustration over Team Canada's stunning 5-3 loss to the Russians in the gold-medal match of the world junior hockey championship, with many feeling the teen Canucks let up after taking a three-goal lead. "It was a bummer, a big letdown," one fan said as she left HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y., where the final game was played. "We lost it in the third. I guess we didn't want it as much." "It's embarrassing, it's full-on embarrassing," said another disgruntled fan, who also attended the game in Buffalo. "They did not come out and play the way they did against the U.S. "They got three goals and they stood back and did absolutely nothing. Terrible. Shoulda hit, didn't. Lost the game because of it. I don't even want to talk about it anymore." The Canadian team had taken a 3-0 lead before Russia scored five times in the final period. Mark Graff, watching the game at an Edmonton bar, described the loss as "brutal." "They just let up," he said. "They had no stamina and they looked really tired. It's so disappointing." Justin Vanjoff, who watched the game from the same Edmonton bar, blamed part of the loss on young Canadian netminder Mark Visentin. "The goalie just couldn't come through, so unfortunately we lost," Vanjoff said. "I'm extremely upset because I figured Canada had it. We're Canadian. We own the game. It's our game. But not tonight." But one fan at a downtown Toronto bar praised Canada's efforts. "I'm a little disappointed, but they played their hearts out," he said. Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement congratulating the Canadian team on its silver medal. "Their competitive spirit, sportsmanship and national pride are an inspiration to younger hockey players and fans across the country, and I look forward to following their achievements in the years to come," he said.

Controversial eh? I am not sure what to do myself....last year I had a cold that was AWFUL!! one of my friends got the vaccine at that time and she got the same cold I did? My doctor emphasizes the goodness of having it......I don't know what to do, I don't want to get a flu like last year.....ay, ay, ay:-?

Linda Carroll writes: You might call it the one-night stand gene. A minor tweak of the gene that maps out a receptor for the feel-good neurotransmitter, dopamine, may be all it takes to explain the promiscuous beats of the cheating heart. Researchers have found that people born with this genetic variation are far more likely to cheat or engage in risky sexual behaviors, such as one-night stands, according to a study published this week in PloS ONE. Earlier studies linked the genetic mutation in question to a tendency to engage in risky behaviors as well as the propensity to become addicted to illicit drugs and alcohol, so the researchers suspected it might also affect a person?s sexual behavior. At the root of all this research is dopamine. Scientists have long known that when dopamine spurts in the brain, we feel pleasure. It's what makes us feel good when we eat, have sex or even take illicit drugs. Evolutionarily speaking, this system developed so we would find our way back to tasty morsels ? and sexual parties So it made sense that dopamine might also be involved in the propensity to promiscuity, says the study?s lead author, Justin Garcia, a SUNY Doctoral Diversity Fellow in the laboratory of evolutionary anthropology and health at Binghamton University, State University of New York. ?The motivation seems to stem from a system of pleasure and reward, which is where the release of dopamine comes in,? Garcia explains. ?In cases of uncommitted sex, the risks are high, the rewards substantial and the motivation variable ? all elements that ensure a dopamine ?rush.?? To test the theory, Garcia rounded up 181 college students and asked them to fill out questionnaires that would reveal sexual habits, along with other proclivities, such as cigarette smoking and the tendency to take risks. Garcia and his colleagues also tested the study volunteers? DNA to determine which form of dopamine receptor the students had inherited. :bowdown: The study findings were striking. Students with the genetic variation were twice as likely as others report promiscuous behaviors, including one-night stands. And a full 50 percent reported that they had been unfaithful to a partner, compared to 22 percent of those without the variation. It would seem that science has provided the cheaters among us with the ultimate excuse. But, as is often the case, DNA isn?t destiny, experts say. Many of the volunteers had the promiscuity gene, but weren?t yielding to their cheating hearts ? or genes, says William Pollack, an associate clinical professor in the department of psychiatry at the Harvard University Medical School. An important question to answer in future research is why some were able overcome their genetic proclivity to promiscuity, says Pollack. One other interesting question left unanswered by the researchers is whether there was a difference between men and women when it comes to resisting the pull of genetics. ?The study shows that the gene mutation was equally common in men and women, but other research has found that men tend to be more promiscuous,? Pollack says. While scientists thrash out that weighty question, it might be nice if you could determine whether that person sitting across from you on a first date was born with the cheating gene. One likes to be able to weigh the benefits and the risks. Along with all the screening questions asked before a date, maybe there should be a DNA test.

Forget CL!!! CERB is great and if you can afford it place ads on EC.... they are preying on you and probably is a SO of someone who sees us. Do not answer their mails AL ALL! Keep going and smile with your chin up. An email provider needs a warrant to cooperate with the law enforcement. A warrant will need a back up of crime committed from your ip...plus, ip's are always changing. Do not fret....you got someone very mean and you have to stop feeding their hate!

We all have something that triggers "great times" in sex. Mine is "expectation".....that is perhaps why I do not like to book last minute calls..... and you? Mojo originated as a term with a specific meaning, but in the late 20th century became a very fluid term with many different meanings. It originated as a reference to a type of magic charm. The word traces its origins to Africa and entered English in the late 19th century or early 20th century through use by African-Americans. It reflects the belief, common in many cultures, that some people have the ability to influence others to Other names for mojos, or specific types of mojos, include conjure bag, toby, and nation sack. From Knowledgerush.com

Written by Tiffiny Carlson ?You mean your ass isn?t superglued to your chair?!? I always laugh when children ask (and even some really stupid adults) how I dress, bathe, shower, sleep, or . Sex and having babies is the last thing they?d ever think of asking, so that awkward moment never occurs (thank god). But if you haven?t guessed by now, I strongly believe these uninformed kids and ignorant adults really, truly think that the wheelchair is somehow adhered to our bodies, like it?s like somehow a third tiny baby arm that once belonged to your dead fetus twin and had to be removed at birth; as if it were superglued to you. Umm?hello? I?m not superglued to this thing, people. I just sit in it because my legs don?t work. Honest! And this is where the fun part (I mean ?having sex? portion) of this article comes in. Use it or lose it baby, and ?Hells no!? to people reading this, this chair is not stuck to my ass. I can get out, sprawl out on my bed naked, and even get it on if I damn well please I can get out, sprawl out on my bed naked, and even get it on if I damn well please , thank you very much. Just think of my chair as a very expensive, and albeit, strange ?accessory.? Walking is not by any means underrated and I miss it like hell. Walking truly is a privilege, but in the meantime, you simply must, MUST, move on; and part of moving on and acting like a ?normal? human, is having a healthy sex life. If having a disability is old or new news to you, know this: Many able-bodied people are going to automatically assume you really never leave your chair. They might even think you sleep in it (rofl). So you?re now the stereotype breaker and as this - as a woman who uses a wheelchair - this needs to become part of your responsibility in life. And please, for the love of the gods, don?t get overly offended if some guy thinks you?re asexual, can?t orgasm, or that you?re infertile. Just use this annoying ignorant thought as a way to educate the public. The Sex. Having sex if say, your legs don?t listen to you (aka they?re paralyzed), or if you don?t have legs at all, can definitely be a bit tricky. I know you?ve seen your fair share of raunchy comedies making fun of amputee women or women who use wheelchairs having sex, and the audiences will laugh oafishly. But is this really funny? Umm?no. It?s called bad writing. It?s too easy to poke fun of people with physical impairments. Lazy writers in Hollywood trying to make a buck will resort to making fun of people with physical disabilities. As a writer myself, this makes me respect them about as much as that fingernail I just clipped off a second ago. They can bite me. Women with disabilities are still beautiful no matter what kind of ?background noise? they might have going on. I could list off at least a dozen women with disabilities I know personally right now that are prettier than most women in this country. The point of all of this? Yes, we are still shaggable. Get used to it. Now onto some tips: - It?s all about the positioning. Be prepared to know that it?ll take more effort (and may result in a softer penis as a result. Most men can?t deal, at first, with all the extra work) to find the exact position for (dare I say it?) ?entry.? It can be a lot of work. But also, if you stick to the ?Missionary? position, it may not be. Experiment. Oh, and pillows help too. - Lube is your new best friend. After an SCI for example, female lubrication can be a harder thing to achieve. ?Astroglide? is a popular choice, but it?s far from the ?Holy Grail? of lube. KY?s ?Silk? is pretty spectacular too. Oh, and make the guy buy all of these things, k? Afterall, you?re letting him into your boudoir. - ?Durex? condoms may be the thinnest and may feel the best for both parties, but they WILL much break easier than any other brand. So be careful. Rushing to get the ?Plan B? pill the next day is not a fun way to spend any morning. The ?Trojan? brand, I feel, is your best, strongest, bet. - Hormones for BC. A lot of docs warn against SCI girls, or chair-using girls, using the ?Pill,? the Depo shot, or any other kind of hormone-based birth control because of our higher risk of blood clots. And they?re right. It can happen. But, it varies from woman to woman. I was on the ?Pill? for 10 years straight and had no problem. But I know another female quad who got a blood clot that nearly killed her because of the ?Pill.? Again, just use at your own discretion. - And yes (ok, most of you), you can still get preggers. So don?t think otherwise, have unprotected sex, and then end up paralyzed and pregnant like a friend of mine did (oops?and she had the baby btw, and kept it). Family planning if you have a significant disability needs to be taken much more seriously. Being in a chair AND being a mom can work, but believe me when I say this: It?s a lot harder. I?ve seen it in-person. - And finally, be confident and don?t be afraid to dress sexy. Most men will tell you there?s nothing sexier than a woman with confidence. Even if you have to fake it, do. It?ll pay off threefold. I guarantee it.

In my humble opinion Postlethwaite was a great actor. I was sad to see Cancer took him at only 64! Rest in peace Pete! Gritty Oscar-nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite dies at 64 after long cancer battle By Gregory Katz, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press LONDON - Oscar-nominated actor Pete , a craggy-faced British character actor described by director Steven Spielberg as "the best actor in the world," has died at age 64 after a long battle with cancer. Friend and journalist Andrew Richardson said Monday that Postlethwaite died in a hospital Sunday. The actor was instantly recognizable for his unusually shaped face ? with prominent cheekbones that gave him a lean, rugged look ? and his intense eyes. He was not conventionally handsome like many film stars but had a powerful presence and authenticity on screen and on stage. His extended battle against cancer was well documented in the local newspapers where he lived in rural Shropshire, 170 miles northwest of London. He had recently thanked the staff at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for their kind treatment and care. "They have been wonderful and I am grateful to them," he told the Shropshire Star newspaper. "I cannot thank them enough for everything that they have done for me." Postlethwaite originally wanted to be a priest but was drawn to acting despite his father's objections about the insecurity of a career in show business. He worked first as a drama teacher before striking out on his own. Like many English actors, he started his career on stage, performing at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool and working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He branched out into movies and television work in the 1980s, most often taking roles as an occasionally menacing working-class figure. He reached what some viewed as his professional peak when he received a best supporting actor Oscar nomination for his role in "In the Name of the Father", a film starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Emma Thompson. Postlethwaite played Day-Lewis' father in the drama about the complex ramifications of Day-Lewis' forced confession to an IRA bombing he didn't commit. He had recently been seen in the critically acclaimed film "Inception" and had worked with Spielberg on "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" and "Amistad" in performances that sparked the extravagant compliment from Spielberg, a longtime admirer. Despite the plaudits, and the steady flow of quality roles, Postlethwaite never fully embraced the Hollywood star culture and kept a good distance between himself and the film colony. Friends and colleagues described him as honest and down-to-earth in a profession filled with big egos. "Anyone who worked with him felt great affection for him," actor David Schneider told BBC News. "He was very un-actory. Sort of like a national treasure. There is so much affection for him, a wonderful actor and a wonderful bloke." Postlethwaite liked the rural life, spending his final years in rural England while remaining active in films and on stage. He recently made a triumphant return to the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool to star as King Lear. Postlethwaite did not become a household name in much of the world ? he is said to have resisted an agent's efforts to come up with a stage name that would be easier to pronounce and remember ? but he was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II when he received an OBE award in 2004. He was a political activist known for his opposition to the war in Iraq and his calls for policies to fight global warming. He used a wind turbine at his home to generate electricity and made other "green" alterations to the property. He is survived by his wife, Jacqui, his son Will and daughter, Lily.