Hinduism

Issues raised are two.
One is of racist discrimination and another is of disintegration society because of loss of Family values.In the garb of individual freedom,decency has been given a go by , moral values lost and family as the bedrock of Society is fast losing its grip.Drugs,Gun culture,free sex,living together,single parent, dumping parents in old age homes ,sexual disloyalty, loss of Faith and crass consumerism and materialism are the order of the day Unless this trend is arrested, there is no solution or salvation.Build solid family values, follow moral principles and give freedom of the individual a rest for some time.
Story:
Editor’s note: the following is an excerpt from Henry Giroux’ new book, Youth in a Suspect Society: Democracy or Disposability? (Palgrave MacMillan).

Punishment and fear have replaced compassion and social responsibility as the most important modalities mediating the relationship of youth to the larger social order. Youth within the last two decades have come to be seen as a source of trouble rather than as a resource for investing in the future, and in the case of poor black and Hispanic youth are increasingly treated as either a disposable population, cannon fodder for barbaric wars abroad, or the source of most of society’s problems. Hence, young people now constitute a crisis that has less to do with improving the future than with denying it. As Larry Grossberg points out, “It has become common to think of kids as a threat to the existing social order and for kids to be blamed for the problems they experience. We slide from kids in trouble, kids have problems, and kids are threatened, to kids as trouble, kids as problems, and kids as threatening.” This was exemplified when the columnist Bob Herbert reported in the New York Times that “parts of New York City are like a police state for young men, women, and children who happen to be black or Hispanic. They are routinely stopped, searched, harassed, intimidated, humiliated and, in many cases, arrested for no good reason.” No longer “viewed as a privileged sign and embodiment of the future,” youth are now increasingly demonized by the popular media and derided by politicians looking for quick-fix solutions to crime and other social ills. While youth have always had to bear the misplaced fear and distrust of adults, how youth are represented, talked about, and treated has changed dramatically in the last two decades.

Under the reign of neoliberal politics with its hyped-up social Darwinism and theater of cruelty, the popular demonization and “dangerousation” of the young now justifies responses to youth that were unthinkable 20 years ago, including criminalization and imprisonment, the prescription of psychotropic drugs, psychiatric confinement, and zero tolerance policies that model schools after prisons. School has become a model for a punishing society in which children who commit a rule violation as minor as a dress code infraction or slightly act out in class can be handcuffed, booked, and put in a jail cell. Racism, inequality, and poverty are on full display in the growing resegregation of public schools in the United States. Now more than ever, many schools either simply warehouse young black males or put them on the fast track to prison incarceration or a future of control under the criminal justice system. All across America, black and brown youth are being suspended or expelled at rates much higher than their white counterparts who commit similar behavioral infractions. For example, as Howard Witt writes in the Chicago Tribune, “In the average New Jersey public school, African-American students are almost 60 times as likely as white students to be expelled for serious disciplinary infractions. In Minnesota, black students are suspended 6 times as often as whites [and ] in Iowa, blacks make up just 5 percent of the statewide public school enrollment but account for 22 percent of the students who get suspended. . . . And on average across the nation, black students are suspended and expelled at nearly three times the rate of white students.” As schools become increasingly militarized, drug-sniffing dogs, metal detectors, and cameras have become common features in schools, and administrators appear more willing if not eager “to criminalize many school infractions, saddling tens of thousands of students with misdemeanor criminal records for offenses such as swearing[,] disrupting class,” or pushing another student. Trust and respect now give way to fear, disdain, and suspicion, creating an environment in which critical pedagogical practices wither, while pedagogies of surveillance and testing flourish. If young people were once defined as part of the vocabulary of innocence and compassion, they are now largely understood through the discourse of fear, guilt, and punishment.

Clearly, there is more at stake under the current regime of neoliberal politics than an attack on children largely characterized by “negative labels and characterizations of youth [that] are falsely totalizing” and punitive laws and public policies. Youth have also become collateral damage for conservatives and neoliberal advocates who want to dismantle the social state and in doing so justify themselves by pointing to an alleged rise of a generation of disorderly and dangerous youth dependent upon government entitlements. Within this discourse, government support for young people is both undermined and inappropriately blamed for creating a generation of kids labeled as psychologically damaged, narcissistic, violent, and out of control. Scapegoating youth as both a generation of suspects and a threat to the social order allows conservatives and neoliberals to further privatize those public spheres that youth need, such as education and health care, while developing policies that move away from social investment to matters of punishment and containment. In this instance, the punishing state combines with the logic of the market to produce priorities and policies that disinvest in the future of children and assert a ruthlessness that largely treats them as reified commodities or disposable populations. Both childhood and the state are now being reimagined in ways that reveal the priorities of a society that has fully embraced the reckless abandon of casino capitalism, where the only rules that matter are made to order by powerful corporations and rich investors. How else to interpret neoliberal-inspired government programs that in the midst of deepening inequality, rising levels of poverty, catastrophic increases in failed mortgages, and growing unemployment invest more in prisons than in public and higher education?

It is more necessary than ever to register youth as a theoretical, moral, and political center of concern, even as it is increasingly evident that youth are one of our lowest national priorities. It is crucial to connect the current crisis in democracy to the war against young people. Doing so will remind adults of their ethical and political responsibility to invest in youth as a symbol for not only securing a democratic future but also keeping alive those elements of civic imagination, culture, and education that subordinate economic principles to democratic values. The category of youth may be one of the most important referents for beginning a critical examination about the pernicious consequences of a society driven by market values, one that not only abstracts young people from the future but shapes the present in a theater of war in which youth become the most innocent victims. Youth provide a powerful touchstone for a critical discussion about the long-term consequences of neoliberal policies, which undermine any viable notion of justice, equality, and freedom, while also gesturing toward those conditions that make a democratic future possible. Many young people are part of social movements that not only address these crucial issues but also provide a politics, modes of resistance, and connective relations that adults should take seriously as part of their own civic and political formation at the beginning of the new millennium.
http://www.alternet.org/politics/143875/american_youth_in_the_21st_century:_pathologized,_criminalized_and_disposable/?page=entire

Height of Depravity.
Story:
A British woman lost her appeal Tuesday against a ban on her noisy sex sessions, after a court heard how her marathon romps that kept neighbours awake sounded like someone being murdered.
Caroline and Steve Cartwright’s “howling” lovemaking sounded “unnatural”, “hysterical” and “like they are both in considerable pain”, Newcastle Crown Court in northeast England heard.

A 10-minute recording of their sex sessions was played out in court, which also heard how she tried covering her face with a pillow to muffle her cries of passion.

Neighbours at their home in Washington, south of Newcastle, complained about the noise — as did passers-by and the postman.

The couple were banned from “shouting, screaming or vocalisation at such a level as to be a statutory nuisance”, but Caroline Cartwright, 48, appealed under human rights laws against her conviction for breaching the ban.

However, a judge on Tuesday upheld the original conviction and ordered that the banning order should stay.

Caroline Cartwright said she was unable to stop the din. “I tried to control it. I even tried to use a pillow (over her own face) to try and lessen the noise,” she said.

The judge, Recorder Jeremy Freedman, rejected her claim.

The friggin’ postman complained? That is some serious noise. Imagine having people play the sounds of your lovemaking in court. That must have been quite a scene. But at least it only lasted ten minutes. Thank god for small favors, I guess. I had some experience with loud dorm-mates in college, but nothing that could compare with this.
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/sex/144224/court_bars_couple_from_having_%22unnatural,%22_%22hysterical,%22_%22howling%22_sex

No number of summits can solve global warming unless we consume less of products that are manufactured with pollutants as a consequence.
Story:
Sea levels will rise by twice as much as previously predicted as a result of global warming, an important international study has concluded.

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) calculated that if temperatures continued to increase at the present rate, by 2100 the sea level would rise by up to 1.4 metres — twice that predicted two years ago.

Such a rise in sea levels would engulf island nations such as the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and Tuvalu in the Pacific, devastate coastal cities such as Calcutta and Dhaka and force London, New York and Shanghai to spend billions on flood defences.

Even if the average global temperature increases by only 2C — the target set for next week’s Copenhagen summit — sea levels could still rise by 50cm, double previous forecasts, according to the report.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6938356.ece?&EMC-Bltn=DHQ9E1F

Good Sign.
Story:

On Thanksgiving, I spent some time taking stock of my life and the world around me and, as we’re supposed to do over the holiday, giving thanks for all the joys — little and big — in my life. One of the larger joys for which I am giving thanks is all of the recent attention that has been lavished on a topic that is near and dear to my heart — the cruelty and environmental harm involved in raising animals for food.

I struggled to cohesively construct an article about some of the many recent and important developments on this topic, but there is just too much. Instead, I decided on a top ten list (a tip of the hat to David Letterman) — the 10 most interesting articles on the farmed animal welfare front.

So without further ado:

1. World Bank scientists conclude that eating meat causes more than half of global warming (conservatively).

World Bank agricultural scientists Robert Goodland, who spent 23 years as the Bank’s lead environmental advisor, and Jeff Anhang, a research officer and environmental specialist for the Bank, argue convincingly that more than half of all greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to our desire to eat chicken, pigs, and other farmed animals. That’s right: Add up all the causes of climate change, and you find that eating meat causes more than everything else combined.

Honestly, this was the biggest point for me: How can I possibly take the environment seriously if I’m still participating in what is — by far — the biggest contributor to warming?

Which might explain:

2. Prominent Stanford biochemist pledges to focus ALL his energy on promoting veganism.

Most of us have heard of Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. RK Pachauri from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and his lectures all over the world promoting vegetarianism. Now along comes Dr. Patrick O. Brown who, as reported in (of all places) Forbes, will spend the next 18 months focused on “put[ting] an end to animal farming.” Explains Dr. Brown, “‘There’s absolutely no possibility that 50 years from now this system will be operating as it does now… I want to approach this as a solvable problem.’ Solution: ‘Eliminate animal farming on planet Earth.’”

3. Al Gore is taking notice.

Although Gore’s Global Warming Survival Handbook noted that “refusing meat” is the “single most effective thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint” (emphasis in original), Gore had not spoken publically about the issue. Now he has — repeatedly. For example, on Larry King recently, Gore explained that “the impact of meat-intensive diet is a significant factor” in warming the planet, that “the growing meat intensity of diets around the world is bad for the planet,” and that “the more meals I’ve substituted with more fruits and vegetables, the better I feel about it…” The truth is becoming less inconvenient, thankfully.

4. Celebrated author of Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close publishes riveting book based on three-year investigation of factory farming.

Jonathan Safran Foer has been widely hailed as one of the greatest novelists of his generation, was one of Rolling Stone’s “People of the Year,” and Esquire’s “Best and Brightest” — and after just two extraordinary works. As Nobel Prize for literature novelist J.M. Coetzee puts it about Foer’s latest work, “The everyday horrors of factory farming are evoked so vividly, and the case against the people who run the system presented so convincingly, that anyone who, after reading Foer’s book, continues to consume the industry’s products must be without a heart, or impervious to reason, or both.”

In his interview with Mother Jones Magazine (the entire interview is worth reading), Foer points out that Americans “now eat 150 times as much chicken as we did 80 years ago,” and that it “takes between 6 and 26 calories to make one calorie of meat. It is an incredibly inefficient protein because we are cycling through all of these other grains that humans could eat.”

5. Actor Alicia Silverstone and Chef Tal Ronnen on the New York Times bestseller list.

For some weeks now, Chef Tal Ronnen’s Conscious Cook and actress Alicia Silverstone’s Kind Diet have joined Foer and former model agent Rory Freedman (whose book convinced home run slugger Prince Fielder to adopt a vegan diet) on the list with books that make the case for vegetarian eating. You may recall Ronnen from his appearances on Oprah, which caused Oprah to exclaim, “Wow, wow, wow! I never imagined meatless meals could be so satisfying.”

6. Martha Stewart promotes a vegetarian Thanksgiving.

As my friends at Ecorazzi put it, “Martha Stewart has proved once again why she’s a pioneer in the kitchen. Having someone with as much sway as the famous host show people that the big feast doesn’t have to include meat to be successful is huge. Even better, she took the opportunity to educate her audience on factory farming industry — with help from author Jonathan Safran Foer (of Eating Animals) and filmmaker Robert Kenner (Food, INC.).”

7. Egyptian mummy heart disease in LA Times

I’m not sure it belongs in my top 10 list, but I found it extremely interesting that “CT scans of Egyptian mummies, some as much as 3,500 years old, show evidence of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which is normally thought of as a disease caused by modern lifestyles…” What on earth could have caused it? I think I know: “The high-status Egyptians ate a diet high in meat from cattle, ducks and geese, all fatty.” If only the ancient Egyptians had the wisdom of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn!

8. Honesty at the Turkey Pardoning

First Obama talks about factory farming and animal rights as a candidate. Then he puts in a garden at the White House. Now he’s adding some honesty to the annual turkey pardoning — talking about the fate of other birds, the fact that it’s a fairly new ceremony, etc.

Might he have celebrated a vegetarian Thanksgiving? The White House isn’t saying, according to Gail Collins of the New York Times in her delightful Thanksgiving Day contemplation of the turkey pardoning. Okay, I’m kidding a bit (could he really get away with having a veggie Thanksgiving, given the power of Agribusiness — as documented in this sad piece on FoodConsumer.org), as was Collins of course, but the honesty at the event is refreshing, and we do have the first President who understands the harms of factory farming and who is taking global warming seriously.

9. Cargill launches dairy-free cheese!

The largest privately held company in the United States (six times the size of McDonald’s) has just launched “a 100 percent non-dairy cheese analogue for pizza and other prepared food applications” that “replicates the functionality of dairy protein and replaces it fully at an outstanding cost advantage for the manufacturer.” According to Cargill, “its appearance, taste and texture perfectly match those of processed cheese” and it “also offers health advantages as it contains reduced calories (less fat and no saturated fats) and… a unique opportunity for vegans to enjoy a product that has the characteristics and taste of cheese but without any animal-derived ingredients.” It’s also Halal and Kosher.

10. Yet another study is exposing the horrid treatment of workers by the all-powerful meat industry.

A recent six-part piece in the Lincoln Journal-Star documents the horrid conditions endured by slaughterhouse workers. Sadly, nothing has changed since Human Rights Watch released their report on the industry, “Blood, Sweat, and Fear,” six years ago. Then and now, researchers have documented “systematic human rights violations embedded in meat and poultry industry employment.” It’s becoming all too obvious that if we care about worker rights, it makes sense to go vegan.
http://www.alternet.org/story/144241/10_signs_vegetarianism_is_catching_on?page=entire

Crazy.
http://digg.com/d31BMaF

Pregnant women, please avoid drugs, at least during pregnancy.
Story:
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – With the help of their doctors, women planning to become pregnant should take an inventory of the medications they take, researchers from Canada advise.

In a study, they found that many pregnant women still take medications long known to cause birth defects.

Some medications with known fetal risk, such as drugs that control epilepsy, are essential during pregnancy, Dr. Anick Berard, at the University of Montreal in Quebec, noted in an email correspondence to Reuters Health.

Other medications, such as those that treat severe acne, anxiety and psychiatric drugs, antibiotics, and many drugs prescribed for heart disease and medical conditions, “can and should be avoided,” according to Berard.

Women should understand the side effects of any drug they are taking — especially drugs treating a chronic condition — and plan pregnancies to avoid or minimize risks such drugs pose to babies, Berard added.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5AQ3IS20091127?feedType=nl&feedName=ushealth1100

Best way is to resort to Natural farming,no insecticides/pesticides, with optimum utilization of land.
Also take natural food with vitamins and do not load the body with vitamin tablets and syrups.
One curious fact.Use of folic acid retards cancer growth, excessive use spurs it. What is the correct dosage?Have the doctors been treating with out knowing this?
Story.
Grains and cereals have been fortified with folic acid in the United States since 1998, as part of an effort to reduce the incidence of neural tube birth defects in babies. But a new study has raised safety concerns, linking megadoses of the vitamin to increased cancer rates, particularly lung cancer.

The study was done in Norway, where foods are not fortified with folic acid, making it possible to compare outcomes among patients treated with supplements and a group given placebos.

Researchers followed 6,261 patients with ischemic heart disease who had participated in two randomized clinical trials set up to assess whether homocysteine-lowering treatment with folic acid and vitamin B12 reduced heart disease. The trials started in 1998 and ended in 2004 and 2005.

The latest study, published in the Nov. 18 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, monitored the same patients through 2007. It found that 10 percent of patients who had been treated with folic acid and vitamin B 12 had developed cancer, compared with 8.4 percent of those who had not received the treatment, an increased risk of 21 percent. The analysis indicated that the added risk was associated with high blood levels of folate, rather than vitamin B12.

While experimental evidence has indicated that folate deficiency may promote cancer growth, the study’s authors suggested it was also possible that excess folic acid accelerated the growth of tumors.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/health/research/01regi.html?ref=health

US has caught the tiger by the tail.The problem is not going to be solved unless people of the country decide to do away with Taliban about which they are yet to make up their mind.Ultimately US has to leave with mission not accomplished.Why not leave now and spare soldiers?
Story:
WASHINGTON — President Obama has issued his order to send more troops to Afghanistan, communicating his decision to military leaders late Sunday afternoon during a meeting in the Oval Office, and will spend Monday speaking with foreign leaders to share with them the broad outlines of his new strategy, the White House said.

“The commander-in-chief has issued the orders,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters at the White House at the outset of what will be a two-day effort to sell the new strategy to the American people, Congress and American allies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/world/asia/01orders.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a1

I have a grand son of just 70 days.My daughter, who reads a bit of medical books and browses internet expects miraculous disciplined behavior from him.She expects him to feed at fixed time play himself and sleep, wake up and start the process all over.She would like him to drink her milk to the full, not a little less.If he does not pass motion for more than six hours;if he cries; she immediately consults a paediatrician on phone or cosults friends of her age group and immediately starts giving him medicines not withstanding my protests.
Children unto the age of six act instinctively;they do not deliberate;if they are hungry they eat,feel sleepy, they sleep.They have, fortunately, not become slaves to time and habits as yet.
best is to leave child be.Let it grow naturally.Let Nature and the body run according to its rhythm.Now read on.here children are given drugs for behavioral disorder. What behavior?They do not know what it is.Do not give fancy names and drug the child.
Story:
CHILDREN diagnosed with ADHD could be weaned off medication as new Government guidelines warn doctors not to use drugs for first option treatment.

The Federal Government draft guidelines released yesterday will substantially change the way doctors treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, especially in preschool-aged children.

One of the biggest medical turn-abouts is the change from guidelines in 1997, which recommended medication was a suitable treatment for children diagnosed with the behavioural and learning problem.

Now it is advised: ”Medication should not be used as first-line treatment for ADHD in preschool-aged children.

”For children under six years of age, a stage when child development is rapid, it is essential to distinguish ADHD symptoms from normal developmental variation in impulsivity and attention.”

Doctors have been warned to weigh-up the benefits of drugs, which are recommended for some patients and risk factors, such as ”growth impacts”.

More than 350,000 children and adolescents have ADHD and in the past financial year taxpayers have forked out more than $21 million on drugs, including medication for the growing number of adults who have the illness.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon, who is trying to rein in an explosion of medical costs, has been frustrated at the lack of clear evidence on how to treat the condition.

”I am pleased that we can finally provide this more up-to-date information on ways to identify and care for those in our community who may be suffering from ADHD,” she said.

But in a twist that could change the guidelines again soon, a US researcher referenced in the updated Australian guidelines is at the centre of a US conflict of interest inquiry after it was alleged he had failed to declare his full relationship with a drug company.

The National Health and Medical Research Council with Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) updated the guidelines. The document is almost 300 pages.

RACP guidelines working group chairman David Forbes said there had been ‘’substantial” changes in advice in prescribing medication and expected some children may be taken off drugs.

”Not all kids should get medication,” Professor Forbes said.

There had not been enough research about whether children’s behaviour could be controlled through exercise and diet, he said.

Restricting some foods for some children may work if done in consultation with nutritionists, he added.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26422996-952,00.html

Dedicated to Drinkers, including social ones.
Story:
London, England (CNN) — In Russia, where the government has designated alcoholism a “national disaster,” men have an average life expectancy of just 60 years — one of the lowest in Europe.
Life expectancy for Russian men is well below that of western European countries like Germany, where men have an average life span of 77 years, according to World Health Organization figures.
“The biggest health problem facing Russia is the very high level of mortality among working aged men,” says Martin McKee, an expert in Russian public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
A new dynamism appears to be taking hold of Russia as it aims to raise its prominence on the world stage. Despite having benefited from a boom in commodities prices before the global economy hit the skids, health indicators like life expectancy have shown marginal improvement.
Life expectancy for men has stagnated for quite some time, and a major culprit has been high levels of alcohol consumption. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, alcohol and tobacco use have risen, as Russians have struggled to adapt to economic change, health experts say.
The transition from a system of state ownership to a market-oriented economy has not been easy for many Russians, according to Mireia Jofre-Bonet, a health economist at City University London.
FACT BOX: RUSSIA
Population: 142.5 million

Life expectancy (males): 60

Life expectancy (females): 73

Gross national income per capita: $12,740

Per capita total expenditure on health: $638

Sources: UN, World Bank, WHO
When the Soviet Union fell and the state disappeared, unemployment soared, and a significant portion of the population was pushed into poverty, she told CNN.
Research suggests that those most vulnerable to alcoholism tend to be men with the lowest levels of education and the unemployed.
A typical 18-year-old in the West has a 90 percent probability of reaching retirement age, but for young men in Russia the odds are reduced to 50 percent, says McKee.
Alcoholism tends to be less of a problem among Russian women — who have a higher average life expectancy of 73 — but they face an equally worrisome health threat.
There has been a big increase in smoking among women, who are being targeted by tobacco companies, says McKee. Traditionally, rates of smoking among Russian women have been very low, but now, he says, almost 30 percent among those under 30 smoke.
“Ten years of adjusting to a new regime created lots of stress,” says Jofre-Bonet. The resulting rise in alcohol and tobacco abuse have led to ailments like heart disease and cancer.
Besides chronic conditions, epidemics of infectious disease, including tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, have added to the country’s health woes.
In the 1990s, Russia experienced a resurgence of tuberculosis, considered a disease of poverty. Since then the growth of new cases has slowed, but strains of the disease that can’t be treated with the usual drugs continue to pose a serious public health threat.
Meanwhile, the number of people living with HIV in Russia has more than doubled since 2001. While largely confined to injecting drug users, HIV remains a challenge.
Lack of needle exchange programs has curbed efforts to combat the spread of the disease, says Annabel Kanabus, director of international AIDS charity AVERT. “The crisis is still going on. Efforts at prevention are not really working.”
The Russian government is attempting to tackle its health challenges. The alcohol problem improved briefly in 2006 after federal restrictions were applied to the sale of non-beverage alcohols, such as aftershave, which are commonly drunk, McKee says.
But he added, there is a major challenge in ensuring that law is enforced everywhere. And while the Kremlin has invested in upgrading technical equipment in recent years, facilities are still not well equipped to deal with high levels of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure.
The economic downturn isn’t helping. Anxiety levels are rising as a result of soaring unemployment, and the government doesn’t have enough funds to meet the needs of the health system.
“There is no money. It’s a big mess,” says Jofre-Bonet. “The health care system cannot pay for what it needs and there is a lot of corruption in the way of under the table payments for medicines or doctors that legally people should get for free.”
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/30/russia.alcohol.health/index.html

Very interesting article.
Every once in a while we hear a story about a person in an extreme situation hulking out and doing something strongtacular, like lifting a dinosaur off of a loved one or fighting a bear over a hoagie.

Most of us read those stories and say, “Wait a second. Not only do I not take on superpowers when under stress, I actually get all shaky and poop my pants.”

Well, science has been looking into all the hilarious ways we screw up, and not just because the research is hilarious. There are scientific reasons why it seems like your body turns on you at the worst possible moments.

“Brain Farts”
A “brain fart” is the term that describes a sudden, unexplained instance of unknowledge. Like when you walk into a store for something and immediately forget what it was you came in for.

http://www.cracked.com/article/222_6-ways-your-body-loves-to-screw-you-explained-by-science/

Questions by BBC on air(30/11/09)
ON AIR: SWITZERLAND AND MINARETS
There are too many issues being discussed here for us to only focus on one. We’ll hear your reaction to the story whatever it may be, but looking online these are areas that are getting particular attention:

- Is this a justified reaction to Muslims’ perceived unwillingness to integrate in Western societies?

1.Rest of Europe,even rest of the world,excluding Muslim countries, would have done what Swiss have done, though it might look wrong.There is a limit to tolerance and feigned ignorance of the Muslim community of the atrocious acts of brethern.If they really feel strongly about the terrorists, let them issue a fatwa excommunicating terrorists.

2..Europe does not suffer from any phobia.When people are killed, you react.No fancy terms please.
3.Defending one’s culture is discriminatory if killing with religious sanction is Holy.
4.It is not a question of national pride, but an act of defense for survival.
5.Yes, the reaction is delayed reaction ,nothing more.
6.It is not perceived unwillingness but a willful act of transnational loyalty.
No group of people have transnational loyalty, perhaps with the exception of Communists.
In short the Swiss have done what others should have done long back,come what may.
You may expect screams documenting Muslims’ loyalty to the Nation and how their Religion does not support Jihad of terrorists and that it is a very tolerant religion.
So called secularists also subscribe to this view.

Thirty global financial institutions make up a list that regulators are earmarking for cross-border supervision exercises, according to the Financial Times.
List includes:
Insurance companies – Axa, Aegon, Allianz, Aviva, Zurich and Swiss Re – which sit alongside 24 banks from the UK, continental Europe, North America and Japan.

Banks:
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup of the US; Royal Bank of Canada; UK groups HSBC, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered; UBS and Credit Suisse of Switzerland; France’s Société Générale and BNP Paribas; Santander and BBVA from Spain; Japan’s Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui, Nomura, Mitsubishi UFJ; Italy’s UniCredit and Banca Intesa; Germany’s Deutsche Bank; and Dutch group ING.

The list has been drawn up by regulators under the auspices of the Financial Stability Board .

Hang overs and effects. You may read my blog on liver filed under Health.
Story;
My hangovers are much worse than they used to be, and they are also more delayed. These days, after a heavy night, I wake up feeling OK-ish, but then get progressively worse during the day, ending up with a migraine at around 3pm followed by vomiting until 7pm, and no desire to eat or drink. It used to be white wine that had this effect, but now it’s sadly all types of alcohol in excess. Why should this be?
It sounds as if your liver is being damaged by your excessive alcohol consumption – no hunger, no thirst, nausea and vomiting are all possible indicators of liver problems. The delay in getting over the hangovers is almost certainly because your liver is no longer as efficient as it was in dealing with alcohol. Alcohol in excess is a poison – sorry, but there is no other way of looking at it. As such, you must seek out medical advice on the state of your general health, and on that of your liver in particular. In the meantime, soft drinks can taste as good as alcoholic ones, and don’t give you hangovers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/nov/28/hangovers-cold-numb-fingers

Droplets bounce-Video.
Story:
If you have ever seen a duck in the rain or in the water for that matter, you would have noticed that the duck’s feathers seem to be dry almost immediately once it get out of the water.

The duck’s feathers have a unique property that ‘propels’ water. This means that the duck can float, and instead of its feathers soaking up all the water, becoming heavy and probably sinking, it simply repels the water.

Now, we’re not sure if the same dynamic applies to the experiment the folks at Duke University did, but it does seem very likely – at least in part.

The scientific name for a surface that is highly water repellent, is superhydrophobic.

Using the high-speed camera and microscope to capture the water droplets’ movements, they set out to se what actually happens when moisture comes into contact with a water repellent material.

It seems the very tiny water droplets jumps straight off the surface. They have found the reason this happens is because of the energy released when two of these tiny droplets collide to form a larger drop. It is interesting to see how two droplets collide, merge, and then ‘jump’.

Assistant Professor Chuan-Hua Chen says knowing how and why exactly this phenomenon occurs will aid engineers in designing more efficient systems where condensate is used in cooling systems.

“In conventional cooling systems, as in big industrial plants, condensate must be removed using external forces for continuous operation,” Chen said. “One of the main benefits of this superhydrophobic surface is that it needs no external energy – the coalescing of the droplets provides all the energy needed to remove the condensate.”
http://www.new-technology-world.com/science/droplets.htm

A heart attack occurs when blood flow to part of the heart is blocked, often by a blood clot, causing damage to the affected muscle.
This is usually caused by atherosclerosis – hardening of the artery walls. The clot, often caused by rupturing or tearing of plaque in an artery is sometimes called a coronary thrombosis or a coronary occlusion.
If blood supply is cut off for a long time, muscle cells are irreversibly damaged and die, leading to disability or death depending on the extent of the damage to the muscle.
A heart attack, also known as myocardial infarction, can also occur when a coronary artery temporarily contracts or goes into spasm, decreasing or cutting the flow of blood to the heart.
An unexpected and abrupt heart attack occuring soon after the onset of symptoms can result in sudden death.
It accounts for about half of all coronary heart disease deaths and can be caused by nearly all types of heart disease.
Three main symptoms of a heart attack:
1. Pressure or pain in the centre of the chest, lasting more than a few minutes or going away and coming back
2. Pain spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms
3. Chest discomfort combined with light-headedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath
Other common warning signs of heart attack include unusual chest, stomach or abdominal pain, nausea or dizziness, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, unexplained anxiety, weakness or fatigue, palpitations, cold sweat or paleness.

What to do if someone has a heart attack
Check the victim for a response
If no response, ask someone to call for an ambulance. If you are on your own, do this yourself; you may need to leave the victim
Check the victim is breathing normally
If breathing is normal, place them in the recovery position and await help
If not, open their airway using a head tilt and chin lift and begin 30 chest compressions
Open the airway again and give two rescue breaths (mouth to mouth)
Continue the chest compressions and rescue breaths in a ratio of 30:2
For detailed instructions, visit the Resuscitation Council website.
Anybody experiencing these symptoms should call an ambulance immediately, but should not try to drive themselves to hospital, as complications can begin to occur before they get there.
Most people do have time to get to hospital and be treated before collapsing, but they do need to act quickly.
Some people wait for hours or even days before seeking help – they are the ones that get into trouble.
After a heart attack
Diagnosis of a heart attack usually involves a clinical examination, an electrocardiogram, heart rhythm monitoring and blood tests.
Echocardiograms or angiograms will detect the extent of damage to the heart.
Immediately after a heart attack, clot-busting drugs will be used to restore blood flow. Aspirin, to aid blood flow, and beta-blockers, to ease the heart’s work rate, may also be used.
In the days or weeks after a heart attack, surgery – either angioplasty or coronary artery bypass surgery – may be performed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/medical_notes/g-i/764015.stm

Great Britain-or UK has not been an integrated Nation.Conglomerate of disparate groups whose areas different from Chalk and Cheese; they do not even have the linguistic bond, so necessary to bind a Nation,nor does it have religious bond for different ,often violent divisions of Church, it does not allow integration.Mere brutal power has made Ireland,Scotland to become an unwilling and reluctant partner in UK.Time England realized this or it may face tougher days ahead .
Story:
The Scottish Government is due to publish its white paper on Scotland’s constitutional future, which could pave the way for an independence referendum.
First Minister Alex Salmond is expected to argue Scotland must be independent to meet its full economic potential.
But the minority SNP administration does not have enough support to pass a referendum bill as Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems all oppose the plan.
But the process could see Holyrood gain more power over taxation and spending.
The white paper is being launched on ST Andrew’s Day and comes after the SNP government began its “national conversation” on Scotland’s future.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8385425.stm

Interesting.
http://player.video.news.com.au/couriermail/#pyOONZ3n_EIPUfX4H0msCE6dB_hue6rB

Good sales promotion.While keeping aside the lighter aspect,I think the joke has gone too far.One does not keep away the nearest,especially during occasions.(I am not a mother in law).You have utilized their services for your family, especially to take care of your children,now you do not need them?
Life is full only when you have arguments at home and eventual patching up.If you keep on packing people up, there will be none to pack you up even.Remember you will also become a mother in law or Father in law in due course.
Story:
Holiday Inn is offering a special room rate for mothers-in-law during the festive period, so that families can have a break from each other.
Relatives can check their partner’s mum into a room and gain a 25% discount.
The rate will be offered to in-laws between December 23 and 29, and extends to all of the firm’s 194 Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express hotels across the country.
Relationship expert Kirsten Gronning said incidents of arguments increase fivefold during the festive celebrations.
“Christmas can be an extremely stressful period, especially for the family planning and catering for it,” she said.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/Holiday-Inn-Hotel-Mum-In-Law-Offer-Chain-Offers-Discount-Rate-For-In-Laws-During-Festive-Period/Article/200911415465124?lpos=Strange_News_Second_Strange_News__Article_Teaser_Region__7&lid=ARTICLE_15465124_Holiday_Inn_Hotel_Mum-In-Law_Offer:_Chain_Offers_Discount_Rate_For_In-Laws_During_Festive_Period

exciting photo.

Read both the stories.We are in for another Afghanistan.
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – The imminent expiration of a controversial decree that provides amnesty against criminal charges to top Pakistani politicians could further weaken the country’s embattled civilian government, according to analysts here.

The National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was passed by former President Pervez Musharraf in 2007 as part of a political deal, brokered with the assistance of the United States, that allowed the late Benazir Bhutto back into the country to contest 2008 elections without having to face charges related to money-laundering and kickbacks on government contracts. More than 8,000 individuals, mainly bureaucrats, are currently protected by the decree.

The NRO was ostensibly aimed at putting an end to politically motivated corruption cases that had led to bitter fighting between the two major parties during the 1990s, Pakistan’s so-called “decade of democracy.” But a sustained political campaign led by the main opposition PML-N party and backed by the right-wing media has meant that the NRO “has now become a byword for corruption,” according to Cyril Almeida, assistant editor of Dawn, a leading English daily.

KEY OFFICIALS COULD BE LIABLE TO PROSECUTION

If the Supreme Court allows the NRO’s expiration on Saturday and rules that old cases are automatically reactivated, key officials could be liable to prosecution.

Among the officials who could be affected are Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar, and senior diplomats, including Hussain Haqqani, the ambassador to the United States; and Wajid Shamsul Hassan, the ambassador to Britain.

Presidential immunity means no cases may be brought against President Zardari, even after the NRO’s expiration. The president is now “politically vulnerable, but constitutionally impregnable,” says Mr.Almeida.

Almeida points out that “no civilian government in Pakistan lasts long after the drumroll of corruption begins,” though it is unclear what form the government’s downfall could take.

For the time being, at least, the resignation of the president, as demanded by some of his foes, seems unlikely, as does a parliamentary vote of no confidence. The possibility of a military takeover is also low.

The ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) last month attempted to formalize the decree through parliament, but withdrew it amid fears that its coalition allies would not back the bill.

Ayaz Sadiq, a member of the parliamentary accounts committee for the opposition PML-N, told the Monitor: “All these cases should have been decided by the court, not by the stroke of pen of a dictator who was supported by the West on all issues.” He added that those ministers who are named as beneficiaries of the NRO should resign to clear their names.

Zardari himself should be “held accountable” for alleged misdeeds, he says.

The government, on the other hand, denies the NRO was ever controversial.

“It is understood by the people of Pakistan as a way to bring the leadership back into Pakistan,” says Farahnaz Ispahani, a spokesperson for Zardari. She instead blames “antidemocratic elements” for waging a propaganda campaign aimed undermining the moral authority of Zardari, a thinly-veiled reference to Pakistan’s shadowy intelligence agencies and elements within the Army.

That point of view is partly backed by Almeida, who says that, while levels of corruption haven’t spiked recently, the attention paid to it by the opposition and the media has.

US WATCHING CLOSELY

The United States will be keeping a watchful eye on proceedings. Nawaz Sharif, leader of the PML-N and the country’s most popular politician, according to international polling, is widely seen as the man most likely to emerge as a possible future leader.

His traditional ties to the religious right, as well as his party’s relatively unenthusiastic response in the US-led war on terrorism (he was, for instance, slow to back Pakistan’s recent military offensive in Swat), may signal “a more independent and less subservient stance vis-á-vis the United States,” according to Rifaat Hussain, a defense analyst at the Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1127/p06s10-wosc.html
(news one day ago)
******
AP Top News at 5:22 a.m. EST9To day-29/11/09)
ISLAMABAD — A powerful opposition leader has called on President Asif Ali Zardari to relinquish wide-ranging powers immediately. Sunday’s statement by Shahbaz Sharif comes a day after the expiration of an amnesty protecting Zardari and several allies from graft prosecution. Zardari enjoys general immunity from prosecution as president, but the Supreme Court could challenge that.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g8-DEMtAE9q4i4ySQ0eV_qZefmRQD9C94MU03

The stead fast blinkers on attitude of so called moderate and secular Muslims should own up responsibility for having allowed things to come to such a pass because of their refusal to rein in their terrorist brethren.One shudders to think of the clash of Christian world and the Muslim world, which unfortunately the current situation is heading for.
Story:
Swiss voters have supported a referendum proposal to ban the building of minarets, official results show.
More than 57% of voters from 26 cantons – or provinces – voted in favour of the ban, Swiss news agency ATS reported.
The proposal had been put forward by the Swiss People’s Party, (SVP), the largest party in parliament, which says minarets are a sign of Islamisation.
Opponents say a ban would amount to discrimination and that the ballot has stirred hatred.
The BBC’s Imogen Foulkes, in Bern, says the surprise result is very bad news for the Swiss government which had urged voters to reject a ban on minarets, fearing unrest among the Muslim community and damage to Switzerland’s relations with Islamic countries.
Switzerland is home to some 400,000 Muslims and has just four minarets.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8385069.stm

Names do not matter.Patients beware.
Story:
The three hospitals with the highest patient death rates in the country can be named, amid a deepening crisis over the standard of care in the NHS.
Bolton, Greater Manchester and Basildon NHS trusts have elite “foundation status”. However, The Sunday Telegraph has learned that statistics to be published this week will show a higher percentage of patients died while in their care in 2008-09 than in any other trusts in the country.
With the average mortality rate set at a score of 100, Basildon scored 131, Royal Bolton 122 and Tameside Hospital, in Greater Manchester, 119.

Basildon hospital apologises to patient
Chief Executive of ‘appalling care’ hospital has affair with safety manager
The disclosures have cast further doubt on Labour’s flagship foundation hospitals’ policy, which has been under attack since appalling standards of care at Mid Staffordshire Hospital were exposed in March.
Last night patients’ groups demanded that ministers carry out a “total overhaul” of the system, which they said was “failing” patients. Investigations by this paper have found:
- Eight foundation hospitals are failing so badly that they have breached the terms of their licence to operate and are being placed under close supervision by the NHS watchdog, Monitor.
- The leading children’s hospital Alder Hey has been issued with a “warning notice” for breaching basic infection standards and putting vulnerable young patients at risk of killer infections – just two weeks after the trust declared itself “the best in the country”.
- Three ambulance services have also been issued with the same notices after failing to properly decontaminate equipment, or provide clean services for the most high-risk patients.
- Bosses of foundation trusts with high death rates have awarded themselves bumper pay rises. Chief executives at the eight foundation trusts with the highest death rates in 2007-08 had average salary rises of 15 per cent when their institutions took on the coveted status.
Last week Basildon was condemned by inspectors who found “blood-spattered” walls and filthy conditions.
The hospital has the worst patient death rate in the country, according to the health care information analysts Dr Foster.
Hospitals were also rated for overall patient care. Again, Basildon came off worst; followed by Scarborough and North East Yorkshire and Lewisham Hospital trust, in South London, respectively.
Katherine Murphy, from the Patients Association, said the foundation hospital system had reached crisis point. “Foundation hospitals claim to be in a premier league, but yet more evidence is coming out that many of them are failing their patients,’’ she said.
There are also question marks over the way ratings given to hospitals rely on their own assessment of their performance. At Basildon Hospital, managers gave themselves 13 out of a 14 possible marks for safety and cleanliness. The ratings were published just weeks before the damning inspection report was drawn up.
At Alder Hey, hospital managers awarded themselves the maximum score for cleanliness. When its self-assessments were added up, it was awarded an overall rating of “excellent” for its services.
On October 15, the hospital sent out a press release, titled “best in class, best in country”, describing how it had achieved the most successful result of any children’s hospital.
Twelve days later, when inspectors from regulators the Care Quality Commission (CQC) arrived unannounced, they found filthy conditions, with brown running water, mouldy bathrooms and soiled furniture and commodes. Toys were stored on top of equipment to clean bedpans.
The inspectors also found that trays used to carry sterile equipment were dirty. Domestic staff said the parts of the wards they could not reach were cleaned just once a year, by outside contractors. The hospital was told it was failing to protect patients from infections, and ordered to make urgent changes. Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary said: “We have to move away from the flawed system of self-assessment to one where inspectors really understand what is going on in our hospitals.
”We need more spot inspections which focus on the results of treatment, the experiences of patients and their feedback.”
Dr Steve Ryan, medical director at Alder Hey, said the trust apologised for the failings found by CQC during its inspection, but insisted that the faults found on the wards visited last month were not typical of the hospital. Ambulance services in the North East, East of England, and East Midlands have all been issued with warnings by the CQC about their basic hygiene.
The regulator for foundation trusts, Monitor, is scrutinising eight trusts which are failing to meet basic standards.
The Sunday Telegraph’s campaign, Heal our Hospitals, has received 1,200 signatures backing its calls for an independent inquiry into the way hospitals are regulated and run.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/heal-our-hospitals/6680330/Shamed-the-top-hospitals-with-the-worst-death-rates.html

The ideal that journalists are impartial is followed in the breach.True, there are some who are above partisan reporting.Again it is not the journalists alone to take the blame;publishers are equally responsible .In fact proprietors dictate editorial and news policy,
The premise that Indian news papers are impartial is a myth.Only difference from other countries is that the Fourth Estate is more subtle.For instance a popular National News Channel, which also has a very good market share is so parochial and slanted in reporting that it would even attack the ruling paty at the centre, but send a comment about Sonia Gandhi,it will be promptly removed.So much for Free Media in India.(This is not to say that there are no impartial press in India).
This issue apart, the presumption that Zardari government is not corrupt and the press is out to embarrass the Govt. is so blatantly untrue even from the eyes of Indians, that it is laughable..
At times Pakistani Media seems to go overboard,anchor and participants for they have ir is the only forum to discuss, to give vent to their feelings and views.
The flip flap of Zardari on Indian planes intruding into Pak air space;Gilani’s faux paus on Kasab’s nativity and you can go on.You can not take the blame from them and pin it on the media.
Taliban is true,terrorism is true,corruption is true, Geo TV attack is true,gagging the press is true,double talk on Kashmir is true,same double talk on Us true,economic mess is true, Pakistan as a country is in danger of sliding into anarchy is true.
When the media reports it,it becomes untrue!?
Where is democracy in Pakistan to destabilize it?
Story:

Bilal Qureshi has contributed this piece for PTH. We do not necessarily agree with all the contents of this article but the issue is important enough to be debated. (RR – ed PTH)

Journalism 101, that is, the very first lesson of journalism is impartiality. In other words, journalists, at least in civilized societies don’t take any position on issues. And editors make sure that personal opinion don’t seep into the work that the journalists are assigned. This is common practice, and even in India, if you read the papers or watch their talk shows, it is impossible to associate journalists with any particular political party. So, in this light, it is utterly nauseating to see media in Pakistan, both electronic and print (especially Urdu media) engage in efforts to destabilize a democratically elected government. Especially, a channel backed up a by large paper is maliciously attacking everything that the government does day after day in print, and night after night on television.

This must be stopped.

No, this level of journalistic activism can never be defended or worse, tolerated. Zardari did the right thing when he spoke clearly and aggressively against the conspiracy theorists when he addressed a rally in Karachi.

Now, the government must come out swinging against the types of immoral, unethical, and extremely biased anchors that we see in Pakistan today.

I am not suggesting censorship, and neither am I asking the government to exert pressure on any media group with one exception. And we all know that particular channel responsible for spreading, fear and hatred and I want the government to confront the lies that this particular channel is presenting as facts.

Media, as I understand is not the answer for everything. Yes, no doubt that the media can play a very constructive role in helping societies progress and move in the right direction. However, it is with great regret that I note that the media in Pakistan, as I have observed during my extended stay in Pakistan, has become a mouth piece for those who were decisively rejected by the electorate in the last election. Worse yet, the media in Pakistan has become an apologist and an unofficial spokesmen for the Taliban. Therefore, in this extremely poisonous political environment, it is the duty of the government to strike back hard, demand explanation for the derogatory remarks and corruptions charges casually thrown around by these so-called journalists, both in print and on television.

Today, the elected government, a government that is full of people who fought not one, but two dictators, a government full of people who rejected of the offers of signing confessions and in return moving to plush ‘exiles’ in foreign countries. Today, this government is made to look like a corrupt and incompetent government, thanks to the right wing pro Taliban anchors and ‘experts and analysts’. This is simply unacceptable, period. So, on behalf of progressive, objective and non-conspiracy theorists, I ask the government to fight back, and fight back really hard, fight for your political life. Otherwise, the constant drip drip of corruption is going to stick and the people in Pakistan are going to buy into this notion that the government is actually corrupt and incompetent. I ask the government in Pakistan to take on the militant and pro Taliban right wing anti democracy, anti progress and hateful people who are trying to destroy the country by presenting the horrible Taliban as heroic fighters, which they certainly are not. And there are plenty of people in the media across Pakistan who can be persuaded to join the government in this effort to root out useless talking heads from the television. But first, the government has to aggressively hit back.

Mr. Gilllani, are you ready to save the future of Pakistan? Are you ready to stop kissing up to Nawaz Sharif and take a bold stand to defend your party, your president and your people? Are you?
http://pakteahouse.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/are-sections-of-pakistani-media-destabilising-democracy/#comment-21909