Technology Slice

Count Down to Budget Carnage

2009-05-11T23:08:00.000-07:00

TONIGHT'S Federal Budget will be about three things - jobs, nation building and a path back to surplus.

That was the message from Treasurer Wayne Swan this morning as he again repeated the Government's mantra that there would be "difficult decisions" and "no easy answers".

Just hours from delivering a Budget ravaged by a $200 billion writedown in revenue, Mr Swan said he was working in the "most difficult set of circumstances in 75 years".

But he dodged questions about the likely impact on Labor in the polls, saying: "What we have to do is the right thing in the nation's long-term economic interests".

What will happen no one knows.

Aasha Davis

2009-03-25T16:58:00.000-07:00

Aasha Davis has stared in many Roles in her Career for Shows such as Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, House M.D., E.R., & the Shield. She is best known though for her 2 recurring roles as Waverly Grady in Friday Night Lights on NBC and as Chelsea Lewis on South of Nowhere which is ending its 4 year series this December.

Aasha Portrays Chelsea Lewis, a young artistic girl with an optimistic look on life and the world around her. She falls in love for one of the main SON Characters Clay Carlin. It is revealed through their relationship that Chelsea has had a tough past weather it be her previous boyfriends or her trust issues. She finally trust Clay enough for him to be her first which leads to an unpredicted pregnancy that is show throughout the whole first and part of second season. Through fights and frustration the couple finally solves there issues and learns to coup with for the arrival of the new born but before they can do that Clay asks her Chelsea to attend which she gracefully accepts. Sadly that night while her happiest night is her saddest when gang violence ensues by a drive by shooting the shots and kills Clay leaving Chelsea Alone and without anyone to care for her and her soon coming child. Through anger frustation and friends Chelsea Finally Accepts Clays death and moves on with life and her career as a painter. Once again another tragedy hits when a false alarm prompts Chelsea to go to the hospital to find out shes fine but ironically when Glen leaves her in the car to go find Chelsea's sweater to leave the Hospital the Car is Rear ended Ending Chelseas Last Grasp for her to have a piece of Clay with her. The 1st half of the 3rd Season ends with Chelsea once again accepting that life has its twist and turns and that the ride takes us and makes us into who we are. The 2nd half of the Series Finale Episodes are now being released each Friday on The-N.

John Hope Franklin Dies at 94

2009-03-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

Duke University professor John Hope Franklin, 94, a revered historian of life in the South and the African-American experience, died Wednesday of congestive heart failure at Duke University's hospital in Durham. Here's the 29-inch AP version of his obit.

Author of the seminal "From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans," which has been republished more than seven times, Dr. Franklin was part of the team of scholars who assisted Thurgood Marshall to win Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 case that outlawed the "separate but equal" doctrine in the nation's public schools.

Valerie Bertinelli

2009-03-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

Valerie Anne Bertinelli (born April 23, 1960) is an American actress, best known for her role as Bonnie Franklin's daughter, Barbara Cooper Royer, on the long-running television series One Day at a Time.

Following her guest-star role on Apple's Way, Bertinelli was approached by producer Norman Lear to audition for the role of a cooperative daughter, Barbara Cooper Ramano, in a new sitcom called One Day at a Time. The show debuted in late 1975. For the show's first season, Bertinelli was 15, and her character was written as a tomboy. The following year, in addition to the show having a full season, Bertinelli's character was revised to become more likable to a traditional male demographic.

During the show's third season, Mackenzie Phillips, who played Bertinelli's sister, began to have drug problems, and was later arrested. Partly as a result of this, Bertinelli and Phillips didn't speak for several years, except when in character.

During the show's eighth season, both Bertinelli's and lead Bonnie Franklin's characters married male characters.

Bertinelli appeared in all but two episodes of One Day at a Time, and remained on the show until it was canceled in 1984. At one point, she and Franklin were involved in plans for a spin-off series, but it was never produced.

Two decades later in 2005, during the One Day at a Time Reunion Special, Bertinelli was reunited with Phillips, Franklin, and Pat Harrington Jr. to watch memorable clips from the original show's nine seasons. They talked about actors who had left the show, as well as about Phillips' drug problem, which had wreaked havoc on the set.

After One Day at a Time, Bertinelli went on became a prolific actress. She starred in one short-lived TV series, Sydney. In 2001, she joined the cast of Touched By An Angel opposite Roma Downey and Della Reese for the show's last two seasons.

Bertinelli, who had slowly gained weight over the years, had lost a total of 40 lb (18 kg) as of January 2008, and had become a spokesperson for the Jenny Craig weight-loss program. She could be seen in Jenny Craig commercials along with Kirstie Alley and other celebrity Jenny Craig participants.

Celebrities who promote such things as weight-loss programs are often perceived to be in professional decline. However, although Bertinelli is compensated for her Jenny Craig appearances, she has stated that she considers herself a health and weight-loss activist rather than a hired weight-loss spokesperson, and that she continues to receive proposals for more conventional acting work. She is currently promoting her new autobiography, Losing It—And Gaining My Life Back One Pound At A Time, which culminates in a description of her Jenny Craig experience. (The book's title contains a wordplay on One Day at a Time.)

Before marriage, Bertinelli dated Steven Spielberg and Scott Colomby.

Bertinelli married Eddie Van Halen on April 11, 1981. They had a son, Wolfgang "Wolfie" William Van Halen, on March 16, 1991. On July 9, 2002, they announced that they had been separated since October 2001. She filed for divorce on December 5, 2005 which was finalized on December 20, 2007.

In a candid interview on February 25, 2008 with Oprah Winfrey, Bertinelli revealed that she and ex-husband Eddie both cheated. Valerie says, "I cheated. He claims to this day that I cheated first, but I don't know. I don't know about the timing." She has also spoken out about a lusty "lesbian moment" when she kissed another woman.

Bertinelli has been in a relationship with financial planner Tom Vitale since 2004.

Bertinelli remains close to her former One Day at a Time co-star, Glenn Scarpelli.

Bertinelli also has a nephew in a rock Group, Joseph Vincent

F 22 Crashes in the Desert

2009-03-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

"A U.S. Air Force F-22 fighter jet crashed in the California desert Wednesday, the Air Force said, coming at a time the Obama administration is deciding whether to extend Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N)'s F-22 production line.

The decision on the production line is due in a month or so as part of the White House's detailed fiscal 2010 budget request to Congress."

It seems the crash came at a convenient time. Just when there is debate about whether or not to extend the contract. A fighter jet crashing on home soil means one of two things. Either it was the pilots error or the jet itself has failed. I haven't heard anything in the news about the pilot being at fault.

If Lockheed Martin can't produce good quality jets they should be canned.

Barack Obama on the Economy

2009-03-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama said on Sunday the U.S. financial system could still implode if a large bank were to fail, and "big problems" could result if the government does not try to lessen the risk.

"I think that systemic risks are still out there," Obama said in an interview on the CBS program "60 Minutes."

"If we did nothing you could still have some big problems. There are certain institutions that are so big that if they fail, they bring a lot of other financial institutions down with them."

The new U.S. president seems to be playing a delicate juggling act. Warning of the dangers faced from an uncertain economy and appearing to be decisively acting to rectify it at the same time. It's a hard act but he seems to be pulling it off. The AIG debacle do him any favors though. After promising to crack down on greed on wall street it's a slap in the face of the new administration.

T.R. Knight

2008-12-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

Reports that "Gray's Anatomy" Star T.R. Knight asked his contract.

Wait, you're always on the agenda?

Could we be wrong. What was? With all that screen time to Katherine Heigl of "sexual nature of the romantic imagination bizarre death with her husband, Denny, I guess there is no space for a number of plot Knight nebbishy character .

The authors were too busy to ensure that Heigl could not complain about not enough equipment for an Emmy to write something about TR?

How Izzie must die? You decide!

According to EW, which show, the creator and ABC are very well with their desire for freedom. "Work is now in the details," whispers insider to EW-ABC.

Knight rumors in the misfortune "Gray's" date at the time, Isaiah Washington called a you-know-who.

He was upset that the show creator Shonda Rhimes of time in Washington to publicly condemn the use of a stereotype as well as his co-stars came to his aid. Maintaining a large resentment?

The incident has caused him to leave Gay man and a pretty darn cute new friend (Mark Cornelsen) as a result. Maybe I should thank Isaiah? Or maybe not.

ABC and Knights of spokesmen refused to comment.

What do you think? If T.R. go?

And where? I think what other projects - big and small screen - Can you see the good?

Waterproof Digital Camera

2008-12-09T16:08:00.000-08:00

In summer the beach and travel next season and the recent announcement of the new Ricoh G600 waterproof and shock resistant digital camera, I thought it would be good for a course of Roundup outdoor appliances kind compact digital cameras. Retrieved from "maybe outdoors, my, I, cameras, a degree of resistance to moisture and May, some physical abuse - the cameras can be taken to the beach, camping, etc. between 'Currently, Olympus, Pentax, Ricoh, and those who want robust, moisture-resistant digital camera has several options.

Olympus, Pentax, and Ricoh cameras were made of water for a few years. Water Pentax Optio W-series cameras are in their third generation. I check his first camera watertight, a 5 megapixel Pentax Optio WP, in 2005. Olympus has two lines of cameras, to qualify, cameras Olympus Stylus venerable, which began as a test of 35-mm point-and-shoot, and the Olympus Stylus SW line, which is resistant to shock, waterproof to water, crush proof and freeze proof. Over the years, I have the possibility of some home-35mm cameras Olympus Stylus and I have a couple of Olympus Stylus digital, and the first waterproof and crush proof camera, the 'Olympus Stylus 720 SW. And now I, his last - the Olympus Stylus 1030 SW - a 10 megapixels, you can a 6-foot, and may lodge under water about 30 meters under water. The new Ricoh G600, which I started in this article, is his second waterproof camera. How the Olympus Stylus SW cameras, not only water but built to outages and other effects.

If you spend a lot of time outdoors or in environments where a lot of moisture, it is suitable for digital cameras are presented below. Program participants in events, sailing, fishing, mountain biking, skiers, hikers and all those who appreciate serious, that a digital camera that does not have to worry about being wet. Contractors and other professionals, a small, robust digital camera Olympus Stylus, the SW and Ricoh G600, which will be built for a military coup, for the rules. I have the Olympus Stylus SW and camera, and the water line of Pentax Optio mountain biking, skiing and other outdoor activities. So I can say from experience, it is hoped that the camera can be some abuse of the media are more pictures and better, no matter where you are and what they do. And the best images are involved.

The last king of digital cameras outdoors, ie, without doubt, the new 10 million pixels, water and shock resistant Olympus Stylus 1030 SW. It can be downloaded from 6 feet to 30 feet under water, frozen, occurred, fell in, etc. If you have a camera, one for hitting, the Olympus Stylus 1030 SW is the best It exists. If you do not need the burliness SW 1030, for Olympus Stylus 1200 is projected rainfall and insouciance. And the 12-megapixel sensor, a 7x optical zoom and Dual Image Stabilization course, they capture images of excellent quality.

Philips 7 dual screen portable dvd player

2008-12-09T16:03:00.000-08:00

Who remembers the trips families of the time? Playing "I Spy" with its brothers in one hour. You see, it's a cow! Hey, a strange art! Well, the Philips 7 "dual-screen portable DVD player to end, all that.

The two 7 "TFT-LCD screens means that the rear seat can be finally a DVD. Indeed, they may also JPEG and MP3 and CD are good! This means that the entire entertainment industry for people on the trip by car is gone forever. As long as one of the largest Hog And next to the service station! Goodbye, Food East Coast corridor from the border Sign up! Your days are counted, with a 16:9 widescreen and a helmet!

With the Philips 7 "dual-screen portable DVD player, that the pilots have yet to do. Except perhaps the road, but who cares, dass Therefore, get started now preparing for next summer family trip, where several economic forces means that everything must be at a low point, including their income. Indeed, if we're back to the exchange system, you'll need the Philips 7 " dual-screen portable DVD player for the continental breakfast you long enough for EU links or Australia. And we remaindered food and water for all the negotiating position of our loyal customers! Remember that you must show you are a customer for their income.

Tim Nickless Extreme Makeover

2008-11-30T19:28:00.000-08:00

Life has been overwhelming for Arlene Francis. Tonight you know why.

Frank's family will be in the top rated ABC reality show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition".

What can viewers expect?

"To cry," Frank said in an exclusive interview with the press. "With it being personal, it will be very difficult to revive ... what we have suffered."

Earlier this year, Frank has lost her husband of 18 years, Tim, who has been infected with hepatitis C while working as a nurse in a hospital in Lansing.

The couple and their three children live in an old farmhouse Tim has been fixed for years.

But when Tim died unexpectedly in January, Arlene was left struggling to make ends meet and keep abreast of the house. She lost her job just before Christmas 2007.

She wrote a letter to the producers of "Extreme Makeover", who called her almost immediately. Soon, she was one of five families from Michigan for the home makeover.

"It was quite an experience," said Frank. "If literally torn from the picture and send it to Disney and suddenly everything back ... and then everything returned to normal, except that we are in this beautiful new house."

She lost to see the community come together as host Ty Pennington and his team built a new house (currently valued at $ 300,000) with the manufacturer Mayberry local manufacturers, and an army of volunteers.

"I heard how happy everyone in the community, how is Michigan delighted to be able to help us, and I'm not because I lost everything," he said. "Now I will be able to see what has been done to our family. ... It was an incredible experience. "

A bunch of friends in Grand Rapids is also Frank said. Her husband, Tim, grew up near the area of Madison Avenue. His parents, Roy and Betty franc, who died owned foreign Frank Auto Division Avenue, he said. Betty is a roperto RN at the hospital in metro and is active in rescuing injured or abandoned animals, and helped Tim, too.

Tim Frank said he graduated with honors from Grand Rapids Community College in December 1991 and was dean of the list as president of her class graduates in nursing.

"We moved to Lansing Tim to continue his career at MSU, his dream was to become a cardiovascular surgeon," said Frank. "(But) and three children, decided to stay in the field of nursing. He not only worked hard, 12 hours, also taught at Lansing Community College as a cardiac monitor life support . "

"This was a great person type A, who believed in helping all creations of God. It has always been there for all those who need help or advice. ... With all this, it was an incredible father "for her two daughters, three son from a previous marriage and three children.

"Tim was really an extraordinary man," he added.

As for the great reveal, slimdusty can not say too much. But she looked forward to the show tonight on the big screen at the Breslin Center at Michigan State University. Fans will be able to see their openness and interaction with the show by famous designers, including Pennington, known for its "Move that bus!" proclamation.

"Ty was impressive and all of the design team. They are really true," he said.

More importantly, Frank hopes episode tonight will inspire those who need to seek help.

Tim Nickless Renovation

2008-11-30T19:27:00.000-08:00

In this weeks episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Ty Pennington and his team travel to Holt, Michigan, to help the Frank family. The franc family consists of Arlene Francis widow and her three children. The French family living in dilapidated and abandoned house that was built in the 1860s.

Arlene Francis was married to Tim Frank, who was a true Renaissance man. Tim Frank was respected nurse, a talented craftsman, mentor and the environment. Tim has served as president of the Lansing Area Flying Aces model aircraft club and was a member of the Society of Arbor Day.

Unfortunately, Tim Frank has also suffered from hepatitis C. On 18 January 2008, Tim has lost its seven-year battle with illness and death. Tim had planned a turnaround in 148 years in a farm house dream frank family. However, given that Tim was dead, Arlene and their three children were left alone to cope with repairs at home. The house suffers from deteriorating walls, floors and foundations. The old wiring is still a potential fire hazard.

Ty Pennington, his design team, local builder Mayberry houses and hundreds of volunteers working to rebuild the family home franc. The design team includes Michael Moloney, Paige HEMMIS, Ed Sanders and Rib Hillis. Extreme Makeover Home Edition is broadcast on Sunday, November 30 from 8 pm to 9 pm ET on ABC.

Mumbai Massacres

2008-11-30T18:45:00.001-08:00

The Muslims in the Middle East in Britain and Austria, on Sunday from Mumbai, the shooting Rampage by militant Islamists suspected of blind terrorism, but also on the defensive are still more than the bloodshed in connection with their religion.

The intellectuals and leaders of the community to redouble its efforts to combat religious fanaticism.

The Indian police on Sunday said that only her husband said, which belongs to the militant Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba. The group is regarded as a creation of information to help Pakistan against India in the Kashmir region in question. Another group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, was also in Kashmir. Both are to be bound to Al-Qaeda.

Ten armed men attacked have 10 goals in the three days of attack consisted of a Jewish community center and luxury hotels in India. More than 170 people were killed.

Many Muslims have said that they are worried about this bloodshed is besmirching their religion.

"The occupation of the synagogue and the killing of people in hotels tarnished the Islamic faith," said Kazim al-Muqdadi, a professor of political science at the University of Baghdad. "Who victims and the people screaming" Allahu Akbar "(God is great) is sick and ignorant."

In Britain, home of almost two million Muslims, a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, Inayat Bunglawala, said that "a handful of terrorists, such as the belief that during the discredited".

A hitherto unknown group Deccan Muslim Mujahideen, claimed responsibility for those attacks. The name of the circles in India.

Pakistan has denied involvement and demanded that India and supply evidence. Pakistan, Jamaat-ud Dawa, an Islamist group suspected of links to Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed the killing of civilians.

Islamic extremism in the forums, some employed, the Mumbai attacks, including attacks against the Jews.

A man as Sheik Youssef al-Ayer says the killings are compatible with Islam.

"It is the right of all Muslims are infidels" Castles fire, drowning in the water .... and take some of them as prisoners, whether young or old, man or woman, because it is one of many ways to beat, "wrote al-Fallujah, at the Forum.

In the Gaza Strip, the territory of the Republic Islamic militant Hamas leaders refused comment. Hamas has dozens of suicide bombings in Israel and killed hundreds of civilians in recent years. But Hamas said he would not want to interfere in conflicts elsewhere.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the attacks that terrorism, but added that the violence has its roots in the "unjust" to destabilize the region. It is not developed.

India is considered by many in the Arab and Islamic world as a Western ally. For example, Israel has become a major supplier of weapons to India, angering Muslim Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia said in a statement earlier this week instead of the press agency, the Saudi "condemns and strongly condemns this criminal act." An editorial Friday in Saudi Arabia in the English language Arab News said that "no civilized human being ... may be something, but she rebelled, and the sick by the terrorist attacks in Mumbai."

But Jonathan Fighel, an Israeli in the fight against terrorism, said Saudi was to channel money from militant Muslims in Kashmir.

"This shows clearly the double play and I must say, the hypocrisy of the Saudi regime," said Fighel Israel on the basis of the International Institute for the fight against terrorism.

In the Muslim world, the attacks of view.

"I believe that Muslims must speak out against these kinds of actions. They must forge a coalition to combat these phenomena, because in her and her image damaged," said Ali Abdel Muhs, 22, a Muslim, a genius in West of the West Bank city of Nablus.

The Muslims and the Arabs must deal with the violence, "which in our name and on behalf of our (Islamic) principles," writes Khaled al-Jenfawi, a columnist for Kuwait Al-Seyassah daily.

"Unfortunately we have not yet seen, a leading People's Party condemnation in the Arab and Muslim tradition, the back, resulting in the name of Islam or Arab nationalism," wrote al-Jenfawi.

Lady Doc Gets Death Threats for Revealing TOP SECRET Fat Loss Secret to General Public

2008-11-04T20:09:00.000-08:00

A new breakthrough secret is all you now need in order to forever shed countless pounds, stay healthy, and add many years to your life!

A lady doctor from Arizona has blown the lid off the best-kept secret in weight loss ever discovered -- and this has the whole diet food and drug industries turned upside down and in nothing less than a torrential uproar.

Her name is Dr Suzanne Gudakunst, and she's marching to the beat of a different drum.

And no, nothing about her "secret" is difficult -- nor does it require that you do something completely out of the ordinary or anything unnatural.

Instead, the Arizonian boasts proudly "...this is something that I caught onto just before 2002 when there was so much research and exploration going around concerning the human colon and digestive system working in harmony with nutritional absorption, and I started doing independent studies just to test things at first ... but which I later expanded on after seeing some fantastic results."

This same woman medical practitioner went on to accurately determine a definitive correlation between harmful plague and parasitic infestations of the human bowel tract, and people suffering chronic obesity -- and who despite intense diet and exercise appeared to be unable to lose any weight whatsoever.

Over the course of six years the Arizona doctor developed a number of natural treatments for the removal of these same harmful, even life-threatening plaques and rapidly reproducing digestive parasites -- and when applied to even worse-case patients suffering extreme obesity (98% of which were in immediate danger of dying) she saw a 100% effectiveness and success rate.

She then borrowed from her research on the severely obese, and applied the same strategies on milder cases of overweight persons -- only to find the same effectiveness and quality results as described above (although the individual weight loss per subject wasn't nearly as much as those obese patients 100 lbs to 200 lbs or more overweight).

So powerful is her secret that she's able to reverse diabetes, rid illness altogether in people suffering from cancer (linked directly to poor diet and overweight factors), as well as an elimination of an entire spectrum of serious and otherwise life-threatening diseases.

Nearly 100% of all her case subjects were told in the alternative by "conventional doctors" that they either had just months or years to live, or they would never live a life anything resembling remotely a "normal" existence -- yet after applying Dr Suzanne's treatments saw a complete contradiction to others doctors' prognoses.

Again, nothing about her secret is unnatural or requires someone to do any major action or modification in their lives.

In fact, her entire treatment is based completely on built-into-nature 'protection agents' scattered throughout the world in the form of select herbs, extracts, and organic constituents, and which can be found in a variety of plants -- but when combined in specific combinations and carefully chosen amounts make for a solution to what is perhaps the world's worst ever plague: OBESITY (and the illnesses and diseases resulting from it -- or at least severely aggravated or exacerbated by it).

Now to everyone else's great gain, whether suffering from just a few extra pounds and inches, to those extremely fat and overweight, this brave, bold lady doctor is releasing to the general public her secret for forever destroying the tight unrelenting closed-fist of obesity's stronghold over the now more than 40% of Americans labeled obese, and others worldwide.

But she's not promising any of us for how long.

Some experts and sociologists suggest that in the bigger scheme of things, the world will never tolerate a discovery of such magnitude, any more than it would be realistic to expect a car that runs on water (even if very real) to ever become commercially available to the general public for day-to-day use.

One well-respected and famous diet & wellness author wrote years ago that if anyone ever "truly unlocked the keys to permanent fat loss, they may actually suffer the same fate as JFK."

It is currently available at:

=> Fat Loss Secret! Click Here!

...so you may want to head on over there now and get it and before someone or "something" gets it forever yanked out of ever getting in YOUR hand at least.

It's in a very easily readable format and is quickly and readily understood and mastered by anyone with even a 4th grade reading level.

While you're there, why not scroll down and review for yourself the huge successes others are now having with this incredible breakthrough in rapid, massive weight loss and extremely improved and enhanced health, now made freely available to the rest of us?

Bracing for a Barack Obama Victory

2008-10-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

"With the presidential election days away, the talking heads of right-wing talk radio are mood-swinging between anxiety over a potential winner they despise and hope that the polls and pundits have got it wrong.

But the enthusiasm gap for John McCain afflicts some of the hosts as well."

No matter who wins the election there will be loathing from a group of people. If John McCain wins the black voters and Obama fans will be up in arms about losing an election that is seen as in the bag. If Barack Obama wins the conservatives of America will be up in arms at the sight of the first black U.S. president in the history of the United States.

No matter how much everyone is denying race is not an issue in this election it still is. And not just from one side of the campaign. Obama is leveraging his skin color to get the black votes while John McCain is a viable white male preference.

I wonder, if Obama wins, will Obama still see the popularity he has been seeing as a candidate? I would say no. At the moment he is inspiring people and making promises. If he is made president he will be held accountable for everything. That's when the game changes.

Invisibility Close to Being an Option, Invisibility

2008-08-10T18:40:00.000-07:00

"Researchers at the University of California in Berkeley have developed a material that can bend light around 3D objects making them "disappear".

The materials do not occur naturally but have been created on a nano scale, measured in billionths of a metre.

The team says the principles could one day be scaled up to make invisibility cloaks large enough to hide people. "

This is something straight out of a movie. A material that can bend light around it making it seem as though it is not there at all. Which ever way you look at it this technology is very dangerous.

It could be used to invade the privacy of private citizens in many ways. The government could use it to spy on whoever they choose and they would be none the wiser.

It also has dangerous military applications. This makes it extremely dangerous if it were to fall into the hands of foreign governments. It must be protected at all costs.

Google to Offer Free Music for Chinese

2008-08-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

The U.S. search giant launched a beta version of a new Chinese music service, called Music Onebox, which is available only in China at www.google.cn.

"We are launching Music Onebox to give users an easy and legal way to find the music they're looking for, and to give music labels and publishers a new channel to distribute, promote and make money off of their valuable music content," said a Google spokesperson.

The way it works: When visitors to Google's home page search for artists or bands, they are directed to www.top100.cn, a music site, to download or stream music. The site has financial backing from basketball wonder Yao Ming. Yes, the very tall one.

In the U.S., such a service is unthinkable right now because the U.S. market still pays some of the music industry's bills. But in China, not so. The music industry is willing to gamble there because it says to itself, " 'Well, we're not making money in China anyway,' " Zisk said.

Estrogen May Help Schizophrenia in Women

2008-08-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

Adding estrogen to routine medication helped reduce the number of psychotic symptoms in women with schizophrenia, researchers said on Monday.

Women given an estrogen patch in addition to their other drugs had fewer delusions and hallucinations than those who got a placebo, they said.

Kulkarni and colleagues wanted to see if estrogen offered a kind of protective effect in women vulnerable to the disease.

They studied the effects of estradiol, a form of estrogen, in 102 women of childbearing age with schizophrenia.

They also experienced a decline in so-called positive symptoms of the disease, which include things like distorted thinking. But there was no change in negative symptoms, such as social or emotional withdrawal.

The researchers said negative symptoms tend to be more difficult to treat, and a longer study would be needed to show a benefit there.

If given over short periods, they said estrogen therapy may be useful in women with schizophrenia after childbirth or menopause, when women with the disease are more prone to relapse. It may also be useful during low-estrogen phases of a woman's menstrual cycle, they said.

Delta Airlines Makes Wi-Fi Available on Flights

2008-08-05T20:10:00.000-07:00

Delta Air Lines said Tuesday that it would offer broadband wireless Internet access on its entire domestic mainline fleet by next summer. Continental Airlines had previously announced plans to offer similar service across a majority of its mainline fleet.

Several other airlines either offer or plan to offer a similar service, though on a much more limited number of flights than Delta and Continental.

Delta, which is based in Atlanta, said it would sell Wi-Fi service to customers traveling throughout the continental United States. The carrier is working with Aircell, an airborne communications provider, to install the network on Delta’s domestic fleet of more than 330 aircraft.

American Airlines, a unit of the AMR Corporation, will offer the same Wi-Fi service as Delta through Aircell later this year on 15 of its 767-200 aircraft, which generally fly transcontinental routes, a spokeswoman, September Wade, said.

JetBlue Airways offers free Wi-Fi service on one aircraft that generally flies transcontinental routes, a spokesman, Sebastian White, said. The US Airways Group plans to offer Wi-Fi service on a trial basis on one Airbus aircraft in the fall, a spokeswoman, Michelle Mohr, said.

Fast Food Loaded with Calories

2008-08-04T16:32:00.000-07:00

Kid's meals at popular fast-food restaurants deliver more than a quick lunch or dinner - 90 percent of them have far more than a meal's worth of calories and many are loaded with fat and salt too, according to a report released on Monday.

"Nearly every single possible combination of the children's meals at KFC, Taco Bell, Sonic, Jack in the Box, and Chick-fil-A is too high in calories," the group said in a statement.

CSPI examined the menus at 13 popular restaurants that promote children's meals.

"Ninety-three percent of 1,474 possible choices at the 13 chains exceed 430 calories -- an amount that is one-third of what the Institute of Medicine recommends that children aged four through eight should consume in a day," the group said.

It rated privately owned Subway the best. "Only a third of its Fresh Fit for Kids meals, which include a mini-sub, juice box, and one of several healthful side items (apple slices, raisins, or yogurt), exceed the 430-calorie threshold," CSPI said.

"People may not get a heart attack until their 50s or 60s, but arteries begin to clog in childhood," said CSPI nutrition policy director Margo Wootan. "Most of these kids' meals appear to be designed to put America's children on the fast track to obesity, disability, heart attack, or diabetes."

The group noted that many restaurant chains refuse to provide nutritional information for their meals including DineEquity Inc's Applebee's and IHOP restaurants, and Darden Restaurants Inc's Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurants.

Bush Gives Death Sentence to Private

2008-07-28T19:47:00.001-07:00

President George W. Bush on Monday approved the death sentence of an Army private convicted of murder and rape in 1988, becoming the first U.S. president to approve a military execution in 51 years.

Bush signed a request by the military that Ronald Gray be put to death following his court-martial conviction 20 years ago on multiple charges of murder and rape.

"While approving a sentence of death for a member of our armed services is a serious and difficult decision for a commander in chief, the president believes the facts of this case leave no doubt that the sentence is just and warranted," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said a statement.

Unlike the civilian court system, the U.S. military justice system dictates that a member of the armed forces cannot be executed until the president approves the death sentence.

Citing expected legal challenges, Perino declined further comment on what would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961, when a convicted child rapist was hanged after his sentence was approved by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1957.

The last president to act on a military death sentence was John F. Kennedy, who commuted a death sentence to life in prison in 1962, according to White House records.

Gray was convicted by a court-martial at Fort Bragg, North Carolina of two murders, an attempted murder, and three rapes committed during a spree in 1986 and 1987.

He received multiple life sentences from the North Carolina state court and has been held on death row in a military prison in Kansas since April 1988.

Early Alzheimer's Diagnosis, Alzheimer's

2008-07-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

Researchers have used magnetic resonance imaging scans to locate Alzheimer's-like plaques in rabbits, bringing researchers a step closer to being able to diagnose the disease using ordinary MRI equipment.

"Although some of the technology used to generate these images was designed specifically for rabbits, this preliminary discovery hints at the promise of using clinical MRI scanners to visualize plaques in people with Alzheimer's," John Ronald of Ontario's Robarts Research Institute said in a statement.

The study, unveiled at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Chicago on Sunday, was one of several showing how widely available MRI scans could be used for early diagnosis of the brain-wasting disease.

The researchers compared data gathered from 101 people who had an MRI within four years of their death to data gathered after they died by a test known as Braak staging, which measures the severity of fibrous tangles in the brain.

"This study shows that information extracted from MRI scans can accurately capture the severity of Alzheimer's tangle pathology," Prashanthi Vemuri, who presented the results, said in a statement.

A third group from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, using a new computer-based image analysis technique, was able to find Alzheimer-like activity in the brains of elderly people who had normal cognitive capabilities, and in a group with mild cognitive impairment.

While more study is needed to understand the findings, they hope the tools will help in the search for early brain changes that signal the start of Alzheimer's.

"These MRI studies show that researchers are moving closer to accurate early detection of the disease, and that we may soon be able to use this technology to determine who is at greater risk," William Thies of the Alzheimer's Association said in a statement.

Procedure Improves Male Fertility, Male Fertility

2008-07-24T16:16:00.001-07:00

A simple, minimally invasive procedure can treat a common cause of male infertility and improve a couple's chances of having a baby, a new study finds.

The condition, called varicocele, is a network of tangled blood vessels in the scrotum which prevents the normal circulation of blood through the veins in the testicles. A minimally invasive radiological procedure called embolization can, in most cases, correct the problem.

"Using the embolization of varicoceles, we were able to improve factors related to infertility, especially sperm count and sperm motility," said lead researcher Dr. Sebastian Flacke, an associate professor of radiology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.

"If you're dealing with infertility and have varicoceles -- this should be treated," Flacke said. By improving sperm count, the treatment could also be valuable in situations where the woman is having problems conceiving, he added.

"Most of the time, infertility is on both the male and female side," Flacke said. "Most of the time females get treated first if there is an issue, and men are neglected. I think you could boost the performance of the sperm if a varicocele is present and treated."

Flacke noted that the success rate of the treatment is very high. More than 95 percent of the time the procedure corrects the problem.

The report is published in the August issue ofRadiology.

For the study, Flacke's team collected data on 223 infertile men with at least one varicose vein. All the men had healthy partners with whom they wanted to have a baby.

Painkiller Deaths, Painkiller Overdose

2008-07-24T16:12:00.001-07:00

At least 1,013 people died of overdoses in several U.S. cities from 2005 to 2007 after illegally injecting the highly potent painkiller fentanyl, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

The fentanyl, at least some of which came from Mexico, was sold illegally by drug dealers on U.S. streets, sometimes mixed with cocaine and heroin, according to a report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Chicago area had the most deaths with 349, followed by Philadelphia with 269, the Detroit area with 230. Other deaths were reported in St. Louis, Missouri, and the states of Delaware and New Jersey.

Emergency medical personnel reported finding some victims with the needle still in their arms, not having completed the injection because the drug was so powerful, said retired CDC public health service officer Dr. Stephen Jones, who wrote the report.

"The unknowns of what somebody can obtain on the streets and misuse are a very obvious message from this outbreak," Nick Reuter of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said in a telephone interview.

Jones said the recent deaths marked the worst known outbreak of U.S. fentanyl deaths. An earlier series of deaths in the 1980s included at least 110 fatal overdoses, he said.

Digg Integrates OpenID

2008-07-23T19:28:00.001-07:00

When Digg's Lead Architect Joe Stump took the stage at the Facebook Developer Conference in San Francisco earlier today, something in one of his screen shots caught our attention. He was there to show how users will soon be able to log in to Digg without an account via their Facebook credentials (the new Facebook Connect product). But also included prominently in the screen, but not mentioned by Stump, was an option to log in via OpenID.

Digg founder Kevin Rose promised OpenID integration at a conference in early 2007, but the company has been silent on it since then. Like many other companies, they seemed to enjoy the positive press that the announcement made but were unwilling to schedule the development time to actually implement it.

Facebook Connect isn't slated to go live until the Fall, and we assume they'll push OpenID at the same time. We asked OpenID's David Recordan what he knew - he said he noticed the same thing we did but doesn't have any additional information on when or if Digg would finally implement the single sign-on solution. We also have an email in to Digg for comment.

Intel Home Health Device, Intel Health

2008-07-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

The new Intel Health Guide, which collects vital signs and allows for remote interactions between patient and doctor, may soon make its way into the homes of consumers with chronic health conditions such as diabetes and congestive heart failure.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the medical device, Intel announced Thursday.

The 8-pound in-home gadget connects caregivers and patients outside of hospitals or clinic settings. It manages vital-sign collection, patient reminders, educational content, and motivational messages. The device has a 40GB hard drive.

With the ability to hook up to wired and wireless monitors, such as glucose or blood pressure gauges, a caregiver can schedule times to remotely measure vital signs, or patients can check their own. The encrypted information is sent to a remote database, as long as the device is connected to the Internet via broadband.

Intel joins several other companies in fusing technology and health care devices. Recently, IBM announced it could diagnose osteoporosis with a supercomputer. Other devices, such as an in-car system that measures glucose levels of diabetics and an implant that measures radiation in cancer patients, have also been developed.