Wednesday, September 23, 2009

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Sarah Schmelling: Dan Brown, Annoying Facebook Friend Top
Recent updates from the Facebook profile page of Dan Brown, author of The Lost Symbol: Dan Brown Hey, did you hear? I have a new book. And I don't get why people give me a hard time about taking 6 years to write it. Joyce Carol Oates : Heh. James Patterson : Pfffft. Hee hee. Nora Roberts : LMAO Dan Brown updated his Education Info in his Profile. He now has nine more honorary degrees. Dan Brown : Interesting, isn't it? The word "profile" comes from the Italian profilare (from the Latin filum ), meaning "delineate" or "outline." But we think of it now as more "inside" than "outside" information. Patricia Cornwell : Boo! Join my mob war. Dan Brown : Ah, and "mafia," also from the Italian of course. Patricia Cornwell : Quit it, Dan, or I'll "hide" you again. Dan Brown just discovered an encrypted 17th-century cipher language in his friend's status update! Danielle Steel : You mean this? ;) I said "Happy Friday! ;)" with a wink-smile. Joyce Carol Oates : ;) :( :-> :0 Dan Brown : There it is again! Danielle Steel : Stop messing with him, Joyce. Dan Brown is kicking butt at this farm game. I no longer play by your rules . Janet Maslin : Can you ease up with the italics? Dan Brown : Not italics. My innermost thoughts . Janet Maslin : They're not your just your thoughts, Dan, we can see the italics in your comment. Dan Brown : Right. If you only knew what I'm capable of . Dan Brown thinks his status updates could have more impact. Dan Brown : If he separated his thoughts. Dan Brown : In intriguing separate lines. Dan Brown wants to know what's wrong with the phrase "inky blackness." I'm dog-tired of being accused of trotting out clichéd terms. Stephen King : Maybe it's not the phrase, but its frequency. Can't you find some other way to describe darkness? Dan Brown : Dark as...night? No. Some nights are lighter than others. Especially if you're near a sort of hidden laboratory substation or ancient glowing orb. Stephen King : Well, I suppose you could just say "darkness" now and then. Dan Brown : Ink! Darkness is like black ink. Inky blackness! That's good. Good as gold. I think that's crystal clear as day. As a bell. Stephen King : Um. Dan Brown : Inky blackness! I'm going to write that one down. Dan Brown is hanging bat-like from gravity boots a la American Gigolo for inspiration. Dan Brown knew he'd have the most thriving farm of anyone in farm city! Advantage, me . Janet Maslin : Again, Dan. Italics. We can see them. Dan Brown : Of course. Little do you know the real game has just begun . Nora Roberts : How do you even use italics on Facebook? Dan Brown : I'll never tell! The secret will be revealed . No, it won't! The story of the ages will be clear. Crystal clear. Never! Janet Maslin : * Sigh * Dan Brown is in DC, visiting an enduring tribute to the ancients, an Egyptian obelisk. It rises more than thirty stories into the sky, proclaiming honor to the demigod for whom the capital city takes its name. Washington. Dan Brown : Get it? It's the Washington Monument! Stephen King : Yes, Dan, we get it. Dan Brown : Because not everyone realizes it's an obelisk. Stephen King : Yes, Dan, they do. Dan Brown can't wait to see the next adaptation. Tom Hanks : That reminds me, I've been working on making my "eyes flash with curiosity." But I'm wondering, I'm Robert Langdon and I've got, what, two hours to save my friend's life and I'm taking time to note the carvings in a stairway banister and quiz someone on the symbolism of a Dürer print? Dan Brown : Mysteries abound! Patricia Cornwell : ! Joyce Carol Oates : ;) Dan Brown : Aha! Danielle Steel : Okay, he deserves that now. Dan Brown Hey, did you hear? I have a new book. More on Books
 
Christina Pirello: Real Health Care Reform Begins in the Kitchen Top
The debate about health care rages on, with both sides weighing in at a level of lunacy I have never seen. Conservatives are screaming about death panels, government takeovers and socialism, and extreme liberals are screaming about the ignorance and close mindedness of the conservatives. And in the middle of this circus? You and me: with our over-the-top insurance premiums, inadequate or lack of insurance...and little in the way of a comforting explanation of the far-reaching effects of this bill. Our congress can take all the time they choose to carry on this way; they have coverage. It's time to have an authentic, no bull discussion about this. Real health care reform begins in the kitchen. No one, not one person at the core of this debate, is talking about taking care of our health as the foundation of health care. With Americans knowing how to make healthier food choices, why don't we? We must choose food that serves the purpose of our lives and supports health, not steals it. Then we could avoid this cold sweat panic over health care reform, because by virtue of being healthy and fit, we'd prevent most of what has created the exorbitant health care costs that threaten to bankrupt us and break our spirit. According to Dr Dean Ornish, more than 75% of all health care costs are spent on what we now call 'lifestyle diseases:' obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and even some cancers. That's a staggering number, considering we spend more than $2.1 trillion on it...but what's even more staggering is how quickly we could turn these numbers around if we just chose to eat food fit for human consumption. In all the screaming that has become the health care debate, no one seriously addressing the role of lifestyle factors. Health care reform talks a great deal about who is and isn't covered and not about what it takes to be healthy and avoid becoming a statistic. The 'EPIC Study' (concluded on 23,000 people) revealed that people eating a diet rich in whole grains, beans, vegetables, nuts and seeds and low in animal food; exercising regularly, not smoking and maintaining a healthy weight reduced their risk of most chronic diseases; 93% of type 2 diabetes, 81% of heart attacks, 50% of strokes and 36% of all cancers could be prevented! Why isn't that part of the debate? Or even a part of the bill? We can continue to simply increase coverage for drugs and surgeries on ever-skyrocketing numbers of people, but until we address the root of the problem, health care costs will continue to soar and this plan to cover all will crack under the sheer weight of the need. How do we create our own personal health care reform policy? Prevention, pure and simple. Not preventive care, like physical check-ups (although they are wise) or getting your teeth cleaned (also wise), but by working to prevent disease in the first place. I'm talking about putting down the fried chicken, grilled chicken (un-think that, KFC!), donuts, burgers and stuffed crust pizzas. It's time to follow the examples of societies that have created health and longevity for people around the world. For many people, eating a plant-based diet can be foreign, esoteric; just plain freaky. Let me simplify it. Think Mediterranean. It's alluring, familiar; we've heard about it; we know it's good for us. It's that terrifying little word: 'healthy' that lacks appeal, right? So think azure seas, leisurely meals, Greek Isles, Italian villas, Leonardo Di Caprio and Sophia Loren. Think sexy. Now I have your attention. For thousands of years, inhabitants of the Mediterranean coasts have enjoyed this delicious style of eating, along with regular physical activity. Centered on whole grains, beans, fruits, vegetables, olive oil, some fish, nuts and seeds, this humble style of eating isn't considered a diet. It's a healthy, delicious lifestyle that can lead to a long life virtually free of the types of chronic diseases that plague us. Eating a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods provides thousands of micronutrients, macronutrients (fat, protein, carbohydrates), vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, essential fatty acids and other compounds that can protect the body from disease. And it gets better. Because the Mediterranean Diet is high in fiber from all those veggies, grains and beans, digestion is slowed, 'preventing wild fluctuations in blood sugar, reduces insulin resistance and improves insulin sensitivity' http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/benefits-mediterranean-diet which helps prevent obesity. Research continues to mount indicating that consuming an unprocessed plant-based diet (along with being physically active) is absolutely key to controlling weight, reducing blood pressure and heart disease, reducing the risk of diabetes and stroke. For the life of me, I can't figure out why every single American isn't eating a healthy diet. I can't believe that there's one person who wants to be fat, at risk of disease, lethargic, foggy and achy. It doesn't get easier or more delicious than the Mediterranean approach. You can even transition slowly if that helps. Start by substituting whole grain products for bread, pasta and grains (like brown rice for white). Choose nuts, seeds and beans for your protein (for those of you eating animal products, go for wild fish, but seriously, you can skip it and be just fine...remember, cows eat grass; gorillas gorge on berries and nuts); get rid of the saturated fat that's clogging your veins and arteries. Drizzle olive oil or other mono-unsaturated fats in place of butter. Skip the meat and dairy. Your heart will be grateful and not attack you! I could go on for days about all the reasons to eat healthfully. But for some reason yummy, delicious food is not enough. Robust health is not enough. We who promote healthy eating beat our heads against the wall daily to inspire people to eat well and still, Papa John wins the day. WTF? Bill Maher recently talked about this very subject: America's obsession with junk food and being unhealthy. He said that we had few role models for healthy living and used an example. President Obama's designee for Surgeon's General, America's 'doctor-in-chief,' Dr. Regina Benjamin is overweight and actually served on the nutritional advisory panel for Burger King, helping the junk food giant to 'promote balanced diets and active lifestyle choices.' Are they kidding? I agree with Bill Maher that her advice to them should have been simple...stop selling food! While she resigned the position, it makes me wonder about her judgment. Her work with the underserved and poor rural regions of the country is admirable and amazing and she is to be honored for that. But now she will be giving America guidance on what a healthy lifestyle looks like. The person doing that job should look like they know what they are talking about and live the lifestyle they are promoting. Now there are those who are arguing that Dr. Benjamin looks 'just like us' and works hard. So she may not have the time to work out and take care of herself. That is just not acceptable. I don't want a Surgeon's General who is just like most of America. America's doctor needs to be better than us, a role model to emulate. If the Surgeon's General doesn't have the time to take care of herself, to show us that it can be done in the midst of a busy life, then how can she give America the hope and inspiration it needs to get off the coach, work out and make the healthiest food choices we can? Rich, poor, educated or not, eating well is not an elitist fad, but the birthright of every human and the only way to ensure a future of healthy vital well-being with health care that actually cares for our health.
 
Noam Unger: President Obama and the Spirit of Global Development Partnership Top
In his rousing speech at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative yesterday, President Obama tied together his administration's recurrent themes of international collaboration, public-private cooperation, and service. By planting these themes in the context of our highly globalized world--the ways in which it presents real opportunities and grave threats, Obama struck chords resonant with his campaign's global development and democracy policy statement to " strengthen our common security by investing in our common humanity ." The key feature of his speech was a call for a new spirit of global partnership, emphasizing that real progress in lifting millions out of poverty and countering transnational threats cannot be made by governments alone. The president declared his desire for this spirit to guide his administration and he referred to it as "a defining feature of our foreign policy." It is heartening to hear the president say "we're renewing development as a key element of American foreign policy," and he is right to place significant importance on the role of public-private partnerships and service. Of course the devil is in the details. In a piece we wrote this summer, Brookings colleagues Homi Kharas, Johannes Linn and I recommended elevating global development on the administration's agenda and we commented on key elements of reforming U.S. global development policies and operations: leadership, strategy and legislation. On the issue of partnerships, there are a number of straightforward steps the U.S. government could take to advance global development efforts. These are presented in Strengthening America's Global Development Partnerships: A Policy Blueprint for Better Collaboration Between the U.S. Government, Business and Civil Society , a paper I wrote with Jane Nelson, another Brookings colleague who is also the director of the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative at Harvard and a Director of the International Business Leaders Forum. Here's the brief summary: In the face of compounding global crises threatening development, the outdated U.S. foreign assistance system must catch up to a changed landscape of influential actors including corporations, mega-foundations, faith-based organizations and other non-governmental groups. Within the context of broader foreign assistance reform, the Obama administration and Congress have an opportunity to retool official U.S. efforts to more effectively and efficiently support global development by adapting to this new ecosystem. This paper offers recommendations on how the U.S. government can better position itself by: • Strengthening its capabilities to make innovative and strategic investments; • Encouraging cross-sector partnerships aligned with core competencies; • Promoting international service, professional exchanges and citizen engagement; • Supporting development of global norms and guidelines; and • Leveraging the bully pulpit to mobilize stakeholders. To understand the tie-ins to Obama's service agenda, it is also worth checking out analysis by Brookings' Initiative on International Volunteering and Service . In his CGI speech, Obama linked domestic and international service. This approach presents real potential for global development efforts. As Jane and I note in our paper, new models at home may also apply overseas. The lessons that will be learned as the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation fine-tunes its programs--including an innovation and replication fund to invest in proven approaches to poverty alleviation--could also accelerate progress through similar efforts on the global development front. The effort to fundamentally upgrade U.S. global development policies and operations is still gearing up. With policy reviews underway at the White House and the State Department, and with legislation percolating in both the House and the Senate , momentum is apparent. The degree to which these different efforts move in the same direction--toward more effective development policies and implementation--will determine whether the U.S. can restore its leadership on these issues. The effectiveness of programs in the field are directly linked to Washington efforts to make development more coherent, better resourced, and suitably oriented toward partnerships with other key actors--including multilateral organizations, other government donors, international business and civil society, and, most notably, the recipients. More on Barack Obama
 
Belinda Etezad Rachman: Divorce Lawyers and the Reptilian Brain Top
 No one goes into marriage thinking they will divorce one day, but if half of all marriages end in divorce, as the statistics tell us, the chance of a couple staying together are about 50/50, which may be a good bet or bad bet - depending on whether or not you like to gamble.   There is only one sure bet about divorce, and that is this: hiring a divorce lawyer will only make things more expensive and nasty.  I have seen some rackets in my day, but none surpass the self-serving nut house that is our adversarial divorce system. It isn’t bad enough that you are losing a spouse, someone you loved once and probably depended on either financially or emotionally, but if you go the lawyer route, you are going to be fighting a war on two fronts.  You don’t recognize it at first, but after spending somewhere $10,000 or $1,000,000 on attorney fees, the smart person starts to see that the only people benefiting from your divorce are the lawyers.  Anyone who assumes their divorce attorney is their friend and is looking out for their best interest is a fool who will soon be parted with all their money. “Who is this broad with an "Esq." after her name slamming divorce lawyers?” you may ask yourself.  If you are wondering if I am a bitter divorcee or have some other dog in this fight, let me assure you I am the voice of reason on this topic.  I have never been divorced.  In fact I have been with my husband since 1985, but I am the child of a divorce.  I taught emotionally disturbed children for many years and for eight years I was a divorce lawyer in private practice.  I came to the law with a bias for only doing what was in the best interest of children, and believe me that is not the focus of most divorce lawyers.  I saw some of the most heartbreaking results in court.  I saw a young child’s life ruined when custody was taken away from the only parent the child had ever known and given to a harsh, uncaring parent who was a stranger - all because the childless, thrice-divorced judge was in a bad mood that day.  Many, many  times I saw lawyers walk away with more of the sales proceeds of a family home than their clients got, which, of course, financially devastated the family.  Much too often, I saw false allegations of sexual abuse used as a tactic for getting a leg up in a custody battle. If you had a job that paid you by the hour, and the longer you took to do it, the more you got paid, what would be the incentive for wrapping it up quickly?  If you didn’t know when you were going to work again, wouldn’t there be a tremendous temptation to drag it out as long as possible?  Try to find a divorce lawyer who will take a case for a fixed fee.  The nice ones are afraid to do so because of the sharks.  There are aggressive lawyers who will litigate the obvious if they can get paid for doing so.  When a lawyer is interviewing a new client and finds out one of these greedy pigs is on the other side, they know they had better get a big retainer because the other lawyer will never let the case settle as long as they can keep their client angry and willing to pay for a fight.  It is easy to manipulate an emotionally vulnerable client; a common trick is to give the client false expectations regarding what their outcome can be, so that if a reasonable offer is made, the client will turn it down because they have been led to believe they are going to get more than they could ever get in court.  An experienced lawyer has a very good idea about what the court will do in most cases (that is, if the judge follows the law, which isn’t always the case).  Instead of encouraging a couple to fight, lawyers need to calm the waters, tell their clients what the court will most likely do and help them negotiate a fair settlement. When a divorcing couple is highly emotional and “thinking” with their reptilian brain (fight or flight, impulses coming from the survival level), it is hard for them to be rational enough to understand they will actually get more by working together and cutting the divorce lawyers out of the deal completely.  Like the maze of the Medina, where you have to hire a guide to get you in and out, our court system is so complicated, with forms that are hard to understand and complete, some people just give up and stay in unhappy marriages rather than deal with it.  Unfortunately most people equate divorce with hiring their own lawyers, and having "their day in court."  They then invest so much money in the fight, they end up with an intractable position necessitated by their investment, which makes the case even more expensive. The secret to beating the system is to agree to be honest about your property and earnings, act reasonably and work together to settle your differences.  Peaceful divorce is an idea whose time has come. If you want a sure thing, gamble on lawyers and judges - you will lose every time .  My money is on mediation.  
 
Joe Territo: New Jersey's Bon Jovi Snubbed By Rock Hall Again Top
New Jersey rock band Bon Jovi yet again was dissed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. For the second year in a row, Bon Jovi was eligible for induction into the Hall, and, again, the band was not included. The nominees that beat them out are the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kiss, Genesis, ABAA, L.L. Cool J, Darlene Love, Donna Summer, Jimmy Cliff, Laura Nyro, the Chantels, the Hollies and the Stooges. "That's right," wrote The Star-Ledger's Jay Lustig, "according to members of the nominating committee, Larua Nyro out-rocks Bon Jovi." Ouch. For more details, read Jay's complete article on NJ.com .
 
Reverend Billy: Thinking About The G20 Meeting In Pittsburgh Top
The nation-states act like adolescents. Every diplomatic vowel that comes from an open mouth has the shout of peace in it, but the leaders can't hear this. Are the ministers jealous of peace? Are they angry that it sustains us every day, more than any weapon or corporation? They act like it's something from a history lesson they were supposed to remember. Meanwhile, there it is again, surprise, at breakfast. And there is peace again, in a cop's mustache, of all places. Will peace be in those circles of black glass -- those lenses? Media people surround the national leaders. No, the newspapers have become almost wholly marketing reports, including the arts and religious pages. The writers will discuss the G-20 meetings as consumers of war. Only the obituary page is not some form of consumerism, and it carries in its descriptions of bravery and tenacity and invention the peace that would free everyone in all twenty nations. Obama should announce with some urgency that pockets of old growth forests have been discovered in unlikely places in the northeastern United States. Oak trees 250 years old, standing there the whole time, emerging in the back-lots and ravines. They have been there so long that they carry hundreds of other lives, animals and insects and vines -- like giant bouquets of eco-systems up in the sky. There is so much death and life in these old oaks, they hold their teeming cities of peace up in the air for centuries and then suddenly we notice them and we stop. What happens then? Our major institutions won't tell us. Our leaders don't hear the lips that speak through every vowel and leaf, that explain how we can live. Our leaders might fixate on health care or climate change for years and years, but they will kill us all. A human being is like a nation. Our heart is beating with peace while our arms try to control everything before our eyes that cannot be fully explained - like those oaks, as well as the vowel sounds in breathing and diplomacy. Our arms get in the way. And we all know this, about our arms, every single one of us knows this. All the enemies who hate each other in Pittsburgh are armed to the teeth. Then they suddenly join forces for three days and become the mortal enemy of all life. The President's press secretary will claim that the arms are under control, but he will deny that peace is inside each of us and is in fact helping him speak. Somebody should tell him that we can hear peace shouting through the loops in his vowels. I myself would like to tell the press briefing that thousands of oaks have come forward and have offered to carry us up into their lofty cities. Furthermore, I would go on -- the great lives in the obituaries are also very helpful, because all great lives have a paragraph right in the middle there, from when they fell in love, and if you listen very closely you can hear the word peace rise out of the paper.
 
Betsy Saul: Going Back to School Can Cause Pets Separation Anxiety Top
Now that school has started for students all over the country, lazy days are replaced with the hustle and bustle of the fall season. While everyone heads off in their separate directions and shifts their focus to new assignments, opportunities and after-school activities, family pets are often left alone for the day, and can sometimes experience severe separation anxiety. This can be a particular problem for dogs who have had to change homes before being adopted into their current families. It's difficult for many pets who have come from difficult backgrounds to finally get settled into routines. And then that routines change when it's back-to-school time, adding to their anxiety. Furthermore, some pets feel the effects even more strongly when their favorite companions leave for college, and they are confused as to why their best friends are no longer around. How do you know if your pet is being affected? If you notice behavioral changes in your pet, such as chewing on items that smell like his or her companion or going to the bathroom in inappropriate places, he or she may have a case of the "back-to-school blues." Other symptoms include: • Persistent barking or howling when left alone • Chewing on objects, door frames or window sills, or digging at doors and doorways • Pacing, either in circular patterns or back and forth in straight lines • Trying to escape from an area when he is alone or separated from his guardian Symptoms of separation anxiety should not be taken lightly. Too often, we hear stories of beloved family animals who try escaping to find their people and end up getting lost or injured. With that in mind, it is important to take action if your pet experiences difficulty when you or one of your family members leaves. Below are a few suggestions from Petfinder.com: • Practice gradual departures. Many pets can overcome separation anxiety with desensitization techniques. Begin by going about your normal departure activities, such as getting your keys and grabbing your purse or wallet, and then sitting back down. Repeat this step until your dog shows no distress in response to your activities. Next, engage in these same departure activities and go to the door and open it and then sit back down. Continue step by step - walk outside the door leaving it open and then return. When your pet is able to handle this much, close the door and immediately come back. Practice leaving over and over, moving up from one minute, to 10 minutes and then finally to short absences of 30 or 90 minutes. Once he is comfortable with you being gone for an hour and a half, he should be able to handle longer intervals alone. • Exercise with your dog. Play or exercise with your dog before heading off to work or school. Then, after feeding him, scale back your attention to the point of ignoring him during the last 15 minutes before you leave. Go about your departure routine, and then simply whisper "be good" before leaving the house. A tired dog is less likely to experience stress when you head out. • Provide a safety-cue. Come up with a word or action that you use every time you leave that tells your dog you'll be back. This is called a "safety-cue." Dogs are usually able to associate certain cues with short absences by their pet parents. For example, when you take out the trash, your dog likely recognizes your actions and realizes you will come back immediately. Choose a specific phrase or action that you can remember to do every day. • Invest in entertainment. Leave something to divert your pet's attention when the family is at work or school, such as a pet-sitting video. Another great product is the Kong toy, which keeps dogs busy as they search for treats inside. If your pet is distracted and happy, he will not notice that you are gone. Fortunately, when you first bring a pet into your family, there are actions you can take to prevent him from ever feeling separation anxiety before it becomes a problem. These exercises are actually very simple and can help you avoid mistakes most pet parents don't even realize they are making. • Act nonchalant. Don't make a big deal about leaving, and only leave your pet alone for short periods of time at first. When you come home, simply greet him and return to your routine. • Promote independence. Both adults and children can actually over-bond with their pets by spending every moment with them. While your family should certainly show love and affection to your animal, remember that independence is healthy. Place your dog in a sit-stay or down-stay position to keep him from following you and your family members around the house, and then praise him quietly when you return to the room he's in. Because separation anxiety can be more of a concern for adopted animals, this is an issue that is near and dear to everyone's heart at Petfinder.com. It is important to remember that separation anxiety among pets is not necessarily the result of a lack of training. It also does not mean your pet is behaving badly, so it is crucial to not punish your animal if he begins acting out when you leave. Instead, separation anxiety is a psychological condition that needs to be treated carefully, with patience and a lot of love. More on Dogs
 
Meredith Lopez: Hips (and Belly and Butt and Thighs) Don't Lie Top
One of the things no one tells you before you get pregnant is that baby weight is pretty much impossible to lose. Unlike other weight, which sheds itself nicely with a healthy diet and some exercise, baby weight seems to stick around like a drunk party guest who can't take a hint. No one told me this before I got pregnant, and if they had, I might have lobbied my husband a little more forcefully to adopt. When I brought up to my mother how much trouble I was having losing the last of the baby weight she just sort of laughed and said, "Yeah. It doesn't come off." About a year before TTC (that's "trying to conceive" for those not up on their acronyms) the husband and I made a pact to get fit together. Our primary goal was to ditch our bad habits and get healthy, and our secondary goal was to lose weight. I also had a third goal, which was to be in the best physical shape I could be in before TTC so I would have a healthy pregnancy. Though at the time it felt like torture, the fact is that in less than five months Husband lost 35 pounds and I lost 20. We no longer spent half our grocery bill on wine that got consumed at a rate of a bottle a night. We both exercised regularly, every morning. We ate healthy dinners and packed sensible snacks for work/law school. I spent most of 2007 feeling pretty spectacular about myself. For the first time in my life I had a flat stomach, triceps that didn't wiggle when I waved, and thighs that didn't rub together when I wore skirts or dresses. I was already over 30 years old but fit into the same size jeans I wore as a teenager. I bought a closet full of cute, tiny, tight clothes that showed off my Pilates-toned , whole-grain-consuming bod. Then I got pregnant. I started off with the best of intentions. I bought prenatal yoga DVDs . I drank orange juice and skim milk all the time. The husband and I took long walks in the evenings. I felt ready to have a happy, healthy pregnancy and give my baby the best start to life that I could. This was my way of showing my baby that I already loved him, oh so much. Then the morning sickness rolled in. At first it was kind of cute, like I'd randomly get nauseous during the day, so I'd eat half a granola bar or something and it would go away. But it got progressively worse. One weekend it got so bad that I lost 3 pounds over 5 days. I called my doctor to ask if this was normal, and she prescribed me some Zofran , a powerful anti-nausea medication that's commonly given to chemo patients. She also told me to eat whatever I could, no matter what. Just eat and try to keep it down. So I did. I continued to eat this way for my entire pregnancy. Cheered on by an office full of dieting young women who were only too happy to encourage me to eat whatever I wanted because I "could," I did just that. For nine months. Since the Princeling was born in October he had several dozen bags' worth of candy corn piped to him while I was pregnant, as well as countless meatball subs, Doritos, donuts, French fries, chocolate chip pancakes, Slurpees, and so much Nutella that I half expected him to be born coated in it. ("Mrs. Lopez, we're now going to deliver the placenta. Here it-wait, is that Nutella ?") The result of all of this was that instead of gaining the adorably normal 25-35 pounds most pregnant women get, I gained 52. High on pregnancy hormones, I expected that by the time I left the hospital with my pink, wriggly little Princeling in my arms that I'd be ready to pull on those size 6 jeans again. Oh, 2008 Meredith. How young and naïve you were. The Princeling is now almost a year old and I not only still have my muffin top , but my hips, butt, and thighs have joined the party. Yesterday I went to Target to buy new jeans and caught a glimpse of my butt in the double-mirror. It stared accusingly back at me, saying, "Yeah, like it's my fault you ate that cupcake on Sunday. I'm just the victim here, lady." And then it doubled in size right there in the fitting room! Meanwhile, I'm doing everything I can to get my flat belly back, but my body just isn't responding. I tried a low-carb diet for 7 weeks. Believe me, I proudly admit to being a carb addict, and 7 weeks of no mashed potatoes with dinner or mac and cheese for lunch was hard . But it didn't help me lose weight. I lost four pounds right away and then gained them all back. I tried the low-cal diet that worked in 2007. That isn't working, either. I'm doing cardio and yoga and chasing around a hyperactive toddler whose driving purpose in life seems to be to climb up as high as he can onto things and then fall down backwards onto his head. I walk a ton. I've given up my nightly glass (or three) of wine, again . I've given up my nightly bowl of ice cream smothered in chocolate syrup, again . I even bought that issue of Children's Health magazine with Michelle Obama on the cover and the headline, "Get Your Pre-Baby Body Back!" If anyone on the planet can show me how, it's my girl Michelle. I don't even necessarily want to go back to my pre-baby weight - that's just a number on the scale - so much as get my flat stomach back and be able to wear a skirt or dress again without my thighs rubbing together. Yet it's as if my body is seeking some kind of revenge on me for getting pregnant. "What the EFF was THAT??? What did you just make me do??? Screw that, I'm KEEPING all this extra fat in case you get the brilliant idea to make another person." With the Holidays approaching, and all the yummy yummy foods that go along with them, I'm tempted to throw in the towel, call it a day, and make peace with my muffin top and ass the size of Mt. Everest. That's the feminist thing to do, right? So pass me another bag of candy corn and clear the sidewalks, 'cause my thunder thighs and I are on the loose! More on Yoga
 
Dan Persons: Mighty Movie Podcast: These Moments in Time: Michael Almereyda on Paradise Top
Let's forget about narrative for now, shall we? Let's not focus on narrative, let's live in the moment. And let's consider a documentary focused on isolated pieces of time, how those pieces can be compiled into a portrait of life as it is lived around the world. Michael Almereyda is no stranger to toying with film form. He set his version of Hamlet -- starring Ethan Hawke -- in the present day; in Happy Here and Now he melded virtual reality with noir trappings; and he's previously turned a documentary lens on such artists as Sam Shepard and William Eggleston. His latest documentary, the deceptively free-form Paradise , was shot over some ten years using a consumer-grade camcorder, and spans the globe and a pretty wide swath of human experience. There are moments here of surreal beauty (a group of firefighters at night are captured in long-shot, their flashlights stabbing eerily through the smoke), some at once elegiac and curious (children at play during a family pig roast), and others just of pure joy (a rock band performs at an impromptu, free concert). The accumulative effect is strange and beautiful, yet rooted firmly in an accessible reality. No beginnings, no ends, no real story arc here, but still an effecting -- dare I say, paradisiacal -- experience. I got to talk to Almereyda about the challenge of patching together a decades-worth of recorded impressions, and how they came together to form his own song of innocence and experience. Click on the player below to hear the interview. The Real World on MMP: Ondi Timoner on We Live in Public Dan Stone and James Joyner on At the Edge of the World Louie Psihoyos on The Cove More MMP on HuffPost: Ben Whishaw and Paul Schneider on Bright Star Ang Lee on Taking Woodstock Spike Lee and Stew on Passing Strange: The Movie Check out the Mighty Movie Podcast homepage.
 
Maria Rodale: Recipe: Ham, String Bean, and Potato Soup--a Real Dutch Treat Top
When I was a kid and I would go to my grandmother's house (on my mother's side), we only ever ate two things. If I was there for lunch by myself, she would make grilled cheese sandwiches with a dill pickle on the side, and she'd serve tea in a gold teacup. It always made me feel special. But if we came for dinner--which we only ever did a few times--she only made one thing: Pennsylvania Dutch ham, string bean and potato soup. I've never seen it on a menu anywhere (even in traditional restaurants) but it's something my kids all love. Eve even asks for it as her special birthday-dinner choice. It's fairly easy to make and makes a meal all by itself, especially if you make drop biscuits to go with it (which I'll share my recipe for in my blog on Friday). It starts with ham hocks, which are the leg (or more accurately ankle) of a pig that's smoked. I try to always get organic ones, which means I find a local organic farmer or butcher and buy them directly, go to the local farmer's market, or, if all else fails, order them online from Heritagefoodsusa.com . Most often, they are frozen, but that's ok. PA Dutch Ham, String Bean, and Potato Soup 1 ham hock 6 average-size potatoes 2 cups string beans Salt and pepper to taste Makes 4 to 5 servings 1. Put at least one ham hock in a stockpot and add about 10 cups of water (until the hock is covered). The more hocks you add, the more water you add. Cook on medium to low heat for HOURS. At minimum, two hours, at most, all day. As the water evaporates and the hock starts to fall apart, add more water if you need to. You want to end up with enough broth for at least four people to have a full serving. 2. When the broth seems done and the ham hock is falling apart, either strain the broth or remove the hock, and after it cools a bit, remove the meat from the hock and add it back into the soup. If you want to add lots of ham and make it a more meaty soup, add either cold ham cut off the bone or a ham steak cut into cubes. 3. Wash and clean (peel if you so desire) the potatoes, cube them, and put them into the simmering broth. 4. Add the string beans, too. (Traditionally, this soup used dried string beans, which have a stronger flavor and aren't required.) 5. Cook until the potatoes are done, and serve with drop biscuits or other crusty bread. I think my grandmother added celery salt, but that's the kind of thing I can never find in an organic version, so I just skip it. If you want to add celery, you can, but don't get too creative because the Pennsylvania Dutch are notoriously resistant to new ideas! Definitely salt and pepper to taste (some ham hocks are saltier than others). Enjoy!
 
Katherine Gustafson: Rebuilding the Global Economy: Will Women Lead the Way? Top
Helping women helps our bottom line. The CEO of Goldman Sachs says so. Same with ExxonMobile. Ditto the head of the World Bank. So say women's rights advocates and CEOs of major companies and the highest representatives of government. These players are in New York this week for the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). CGI - an annual meeting at which world leaders, business executives and civil society representatives consider ways to solve our biggest global problems - has taken " investing in girls and women " as a special subject of discussion this year. Pamela Shifman, director of initiatives for women and girls at the NoVo Foundation, lays it out plainly, saying that there's "a growing body of evidence, that when half the population is oppressed and not able to participate in society, it hurts not only girls and women, it hurts everyone." What everyone seems to agree on is that promoting advancement for women not only makes a lot of sense, but it's part of the answer to a lot of our societal and economic problems. Empower Women, Get Growth and Stability The return on investing in females' well-being, education and opportunities is astronomical. According to CGI, countries' GDP pops up when girls go to school - each year she attends school will increase a girl's future income by 10 to 20 percent, which has substantial ripple effect throughout a society. Women invest 90 percent of their income in their households, as opposed to men's 30 to 40 percent. Furthermore, according to the UN Foundation (PDF), women who control their income have fewer children, which has been shown to be inversely related to a nation's income since they can pump more money into local economies. They can take advantage of micro-credit opportunities to further improve their families' lives, such as the micro-loans for sanitation projects pioneered by Matt Damon's organization, Water.org , a CGI member. What's not to like? The business community is starting to warm up to these ideas. In a prominent example, last year Goldman Sachs launched its 10,000 Women project, which will to train 10,000 underserved women around the world in business and management, among other things. The financial giant's involvement made a big impression on Zainab Salbi, Founder and CEO of Women for Women International, who has spent over 15 years helping women in war-ravaged nations. "For the chair of their board to stand up and say, 'I'm telling you, this is it. We are in the business of prediction, and we are telling you women have a future,' this was a revolutionary moment," she said. Such important voices continued enhancing the legitimacy of this issue today, on CGI's second day, at a special plenary session on investing in women and girls. Diane Sawyer moderated the panel, where what she called "the power hitters" - including Salbi and Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs - discussed why people should care about helping women. Blankfein noted that women make sure money moves through society by investing in their families, which disperses funds into the larger economy. Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank, agreed and noted that drawing women into the mainstream economy bears even better benefits. "We know that by giving the money to women, we get a better result ..." he said. "You have to draw them in ... If they're the primary farmers, but they don't have property rights, what's that going to do to their productivity?" Sawyer noted that not only is empowering women powerful economically, but important for peace and stability. "We've heard the Joint Chiefs say that one of the biggest forces for combating extremism is educating women," she said, turning to Melanne Verveer, the Ambassador-at-Large for Women's Issue at the U.S. Department of State for a response. Verveer agreed that women can be an important force for stability: "The most dangerous places in the world are those places where women are put down in the most extreme way," she said. "Women are on the frontlines of moderation." Taking Action The attention of the prominent folks at CGI is already making a difference. Salbi is pleased with CGI's leadership, noting that Clinton and his team are "seriously listening to those of us who are in the grassroots and who are working for these changes." All members are required to commit to improving the world in some way, and the NoVo Foundation announced two new multimillion-dollar commitments for girls and women at this morning's session. The Foundation's efforts will be directed toward ending gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and alleviating poverty and supporting sustainable livelihoods in a range of other countries. Women for Women International will be a major partner. A number of other commitments to support women and girls were unveiled this morning, including a $500 million effort by pharmaceutical giant Merck, to supply the Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine to 1.7 million women in the developing world. Other international leaders and organizations are also paying attention to women's issues. Last week the United Nations announced that it will put in place a single powerful agency to promote women's rights. Similarly, President Obama created a White House Council for Women and Girls. And UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf collaborated on an article called "Taking Women's Rights Seriously." Corporate leaders aside from Goldman Sachs are taking action as well. The Nike and the NoVo foundations are partnering on "The Girl Effect" to invest over $100 million in advocacy, awareness and programming to help adolescent girls in developing countries. And ExxonMobil's $1.5-million Educating Women and Girls Initiative promotes women's and girls' education, training and leadership. Challenges Remain The fact that women's issues are getting traction is both wonderful and depressing. It is wonderful, of course, because women desperately need the help this attention can bring them. Jennifer Buffett, Co-Chair and President of NoVo Foundation, mentioned to me that only half a penny of every development dollar goes to an adolescent girl. "Women and girls have been left out of the equation," she said. But that same thing means it's a victory tinged with the bitterness of neglect. Over half a century ago, both the United Nations' Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights espoused women's rights. Yet despite such good intentions, women around the globe still face monumental challenges. They suffer repression, abuse and poor healthcare. They are frequently reduced to second-class citizens and sometimes to the level of chattel and even slaves. In the face of such tremendous benefits associated with the empowerment of women, it is notable that the treatment of the female half is as dismal as it is in so many societies around the globe. Buffett described the uphill battle women face. "In the developing world, girls are so vulnerable," she said. "They're pulled out of school young. They're vulnerable to AIDS. They're married off as soon as they can be ... then they can't bring up the economy of their families because they're not skilled." One of Salbi's concerns is women's exclusion from the decision-making table. "Women are over 80 percent of the world's farmers and they own about 2 percent of land in the world," she said. "We cannot address environmental issues, sustainable farming issues, industrial agriculture issues, food crisis, if we are going to ignore that. How can you have a policy that ignores the people that are doing the work on a daily basis?" Shifman pointed out that women must also contend with gender-based violence. "So often violence against women and girls - particularly violence ... at the hands of family members or violence that is sanctioned by the state, such as child marriage - is just accepted," she said. "For so many years this was seen as just life. This wasn't seen as violence." Anti-sex-trafficking activist and winner of this year's Clinton Global Citizen Award Ruchira Gupta has spent decades combating this kind of institutional violence. She noted the example of a condom-distribution program run by the National AIDS Control Organization of India and supported by international foundations such as the Gates Foundation and CARE International. The program uses brothel owners as condom distributors, so that "when we find a 14-year-old in a brothel and try to get to her, we can't get the pimp into jail because he's working for the program, which is funded by the Gates Foundation," Gupta said. "The Gates-funded program in India is trying to prevent men from getting AIDS, but not trying to prevent the women from the men. We are saying it is important to put in money for condom distribution, but it is also important to put in money to find other sustainable livelihood options" for the girls. "What we can do," according to Shifman, "is give them an asset other than their bodies ... We should give them other things they can do ... other options." "We Are Better Than This" From all accounts, the world community is intent on doing just that. New York Times columnist and CGI participant Nicholas Kristof has pronounced this a new era for women in his new book on the importance of women's empowerment, Half the Sky, co-authored with Sheryl WuDunn. "In the nineteenth century," they write, "the central moral challenge was slavery. In the twentieth century, it was the battle against totalitarianism. We believe that in this century the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for gender equality in the developing world." Incidentally, Buffett said, "there are more people enslaved in the 20th century than there were in the transatlantic slave trade in the 19th century." This is a problem borne in large part by women. "Poor women and girls are the most vulnerable," she said. "They're easy prey." In Salbi's view, women are vulnerable across the board. "You name it - whatever the challenge is - and women are disproportionately impacted by it." With a problem that monumental, Salbi thinks that every argument - moral, economic and otherwise -must be employed to make progress. But she reminds us that "the only way we can sustain the change is if it is seen at the end of the day as morally the right thing to do." Jennifer Buffett agrees. For her, it comes down to a simple fact: "We are better than this."
 
Paul Abrams: Baucus Bill Hearings Day 1: Heroes--Cantwell, Kerry, Nelson, Wyden. Grumpy Old Men--Republicans. Goat--Tom Carper. Top
Late night owling it on CSPAN, I report some encouraging events in the Senate Finance Committee markup of the Baucus bill that has met with deservedly widespread criticism. If the trend continues, something very good may yet emerge. The following are recounted in alphabetical order: Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) had already convinced Baucus to accept her changes in his "modified mark" that put a stake in the fee-for-service system that provides perverse financial incentives for volume of patients and procedures rather than outcomes. This stems the inexorability of healthcare cost inflation exceeding the CPI, and thus will have a major impact on improving outcomes and bending the cost curve down. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) offered an amendment to reduce the amount of decrease in payments for home health care delivery. The Senator correctly pointed out that home health care is highly desired by the elderly community, improves outcomes and is substantially less expensive than institutional or hospital care. He noted that home healthcare was taking a larger percentage hit than any other area, and that such priorities were misplaced. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FLA) proposed that Medicare part D be permitted to reimburse drug companies at Medicaid rates for seniors who qualify for both programs, approximately 8 million people. He noted that those were the rates that applied prior to the (Republican Congress) outlawing that practice in its Part D plan in 2005, and he was merely suggesting a rollback to the prior practice. This would save the system $86 billion over 10 years that would enable the donut-hole ($2700-5800 of drug expenses for which seniors pay premiums but receive no benefit) to be filled and still leave a cool $30B to satisfy other needs in the system. Democrat after Democrat applauded Nelson and requested to be added as co-sponsors. Senator Schumer wondered aloud how anyone could oppose it, and bluntly stated that many in the room had supported provisions to aid one or another interest group, and it was time for the Committee to do something for the American people. For a while, the Republicans just squirmed, although Chuck Grassley, with whom Baucus was "negotiating" for months, blurted several sarcastic remarks. Enter, Senator Tom Carper (D-Del). He began carping about the 'unfairness' to the pharma industry that had 'negotiated' an $80B deal--although not, Senators Kerry and Schumer pointed out, with Congress, but rather (supposedly) with people in the White House. He suggested that, since drug costs were only 10% of healthcare expenses, whereas hospital costs were 35%, that hospitals should be contributing 3.5X the amount the drug companies did "in order to be fair". His position was carefully fileted by Senators Kerry and Schumer, who noted that many hospitals are non-profits, some are losing money, and others have very thin profit margins. While Carper carped, the grumpy old men on the Republican side began to remember their talking points. Only 12% of medicare patients, Grassley harrumphed, were in the donut hole. [neglecting to say is that that is more than 5 million people(!), and how many are not in it because they cannot afford it, and are thus just not taking those medications?]. Probably the most ridiculous argument was that if the pharma companies did not make their $86B over 10 years fleecing poor seniors, they would raise the prices of the drugs for children, as if children were on such drugs as Lipitor®, Rituxan® or Forteo®, or even that most drugs for children are still patent-protected and thus not subject to generic competition. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) denounced the original bill for not providing choice, and pointed out that most versions of the public option are only for those who do not have or lose their insurance. He challenged the committee to open the healthcare plan available to all Members of Congress and all federal employees, and that thus already operate in every state (because they have federal employees) to the public. This would fulfill, he said, the President's argument that "if it is good enough for Members of Congress, it should be good enough for the American people". Overall, it was a good opening day. One could measure how good it was by the sour faces and wounded-appearing body language of the Republicans. After their opening statements--spouting the same poppycock that they too were for reform, that malpractice reform would reduce costs substantially (a position refuted by the Congressional Budget Office, in 2004, under a Republican Congress), and that opening competition to insurance across state lines would reduce costs--they were unable to mount any cogent responses to the Democrats' modifications or amendments. As noted in an earlier article, if the Democrats pass a good universal healthcare bill, Republicans will become politically irrelevant for 2+ generations. ("Permanent Irrelevance: Outcome for Republicans if Dems Pass Universal Health Care Reform", September 9, 2009). Their body language, their harrumphing, and their lack of anything cogent to offer is a harbinger of that status. Although much of the comments were directed to costs, in fact many of the proposals lowered costs because they improved health outcomes. That is the key to success, and ought to be the focus of the President's messages on healthcare. There is a long way to go before the Baucus bill is transformed into real reform that benefits real people. Day 1 was a good start.
 
Lita Smith-Mines: Nightmare On Elm and Maple Streets Top
Home sellers are a frightened group these days, alarmed by the very inducement designed to relieve their sleepless nights and jumpstart the residential real estate market. Since Labor Day passed, I have felt less like a real estate lawyer and more like a character actor in an awful horror movie, trying to figure out who the villains are, and how such a benign sounding benefit as an $8,000 first-time buyer's tax credit could cause such dismay. Let me take you behind the scenes and explain the motivation of the main characters: A segment of first-time buyers have been prudent, tracking home prices and gauging job stability. Finally feeling comfortable enough to make offers on homes after a summer of uncertainty, they've calculated the (up to) $8,000 tax credit into their saving or spending plans for their first year of home ownership. Making offers to buy, they specify that closing should take place as soon as possible (meaning no later than the credit eligibility expiration on November 30th). A portion of sellers accepting those offers still reside in their homes; may have kids in school, might need to find a new place to live, and are possibly waiting for a contract in order to make arrangements to pay back less than the full amounts owed on their houses (commonly called a "short sale"). Happy (or at least relieved) to receive viable offers on their homes, the sellers are finally able to make plans. They tell their attorneys they'll close as soon as possible (meaning as soon as they can arrange new housing or persuade their mortgage holders that the short sale proceeds are preferable to foreclosure proceedings). Are you hearing the discordant music growing louder in the background? In the summer, the Monday after Thanksgiving seemed very remote. But now, without any concrete extension of the tax credit on the table, first-time buyers sense their savings may be shrinking. They ask me: can they negotiate contract terms, arrange for mortgage financing, ensure sellers deliver clear title, hurdle the newest lender closing requirements, and still have a deed in hand in about 40 business days? And (cue the spine-chilling sound effects): Will I protect them by stipulating that the sales price should be dropped by $8,000 if sellers don't close by November 30th? Sellers, panicked by netting thousands of dollars less at closing (or manacled by the constraints of a fixed short sale figure), are breaking into a cold sweat. They hysterically run from blocked doors to stuck windows, screeching as the other-worldly music morphs into monstrous moaning: $8,000 tax credit or the deal dies . Frantic sellers scream back at the looming buyer-beasts trying to snatch their last few dollars (or their sanity): Don't kill the deal--I'm doing my best! I dread the last few frames of this horror movie. As I represent buyers over the next few weeks, my job is to ensure they receive the credit that persuaded them to jump into the home buying scene (even if they are now late to the game). On the other side, sellers hire me to guarantee them enough time to tie up loose ends and pay their obligations without penalty (even if months ago they were figuratively dying for a buyer). Will a champion rush in to save the day by extending the deadline, or will the crazed zombies bury more bodies in the real estate cemetery? More on Real Estate
 
Andy Ostroy: Sensing Imminent Defeat, DeLay Redistricts "Dancing" Judges Top
I used to think former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was batshit crazy. Now, cha-cha-cha'ing around the "Dancing with the Stars" stage as he maniacally lip-synchs "Wild Thing," I'm utterly convinced. The Hammer is certifiably insane . As his Republican colleague Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fl) said, "Doing the cha-cha, it was like a bad car accident. You want to look away but you can't." But DeLay's smart enough to realize he has zero chance of winning this season's competition, and has taken control of the situation by gerrymandering the judges' table and removing the colorful Roberto Benigni sound-alike Bruno Tonioli, who labeled DeLay's performance "half magic, half tragic," telling Texas's dancing fool, "You're crazier than Sarah Palin!" He's had Tonioli replaced with ex-American Idol judge Paula Abdul, who can find something to love about anyone , even angry, arrogant, corrupt, polarizing, hate-mongering partisan dictators like DeLay. The Hammer's also maneuvering to oust Len Goodman and have Palin installed in the judges seat instead. Palin is no stranger to dance. She's been side-stepping reality since she entered politics. More on Sarah Palin
 
Robert Siciliano: Criminal Hackers, Carders, Dumps, and Identity Theft Top
Albert Gonzalez and his gang of criminal hackers were responsible for data breaches in retailers and payment processors, with some estimates saying they breached over 230 million records combined. Gonzalez, considered a proficient criminal hacker, provided "dumps," a term which refers to stolen credit card data, to "carders." "Carders" are the people who buy, sell, and trade stolen credit card data online. This video provides an example of an online forum where stolen data is bought and sold. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to his crimes and will be serving the next fifteen years in jail. He and his gang used a combination of schemes that have caused a significant increase in counterfeit fraud. Hackers rely on a variety of techniques to obtain credit card data. One such technique is wardriving, in which criminals hack into wireless networks and install spyware. Another is phishing, in which spoofed emails prompt the victim to enter account information. Phexting or smishing are similar to phishing, but with text messages instead of emails. Some hackers use keylogging software to spy on victims' PCs. Others affix devices to the faces of ATMs and gas pumps in order to skim credit and debit card data. Banks should step up to the plate and solve skimming by implementing the ADT Anti-Skim ATM Security Solution , which eliminates skimming on all major ATM makes and models. Gonzalez and his gang used another, more advanced technique known as an "SQL injection." SQL stands for "Structured Query Language." The term refers to a virus that infects an application by exploiting a security vulnerability. WordPress, a blogging platform, is an example of a commonly used application that has been found vulnerable to these types of attacks. There are hundreds of other applications that can fall victim to an SQL injection. IBM Internet Security Systems discovered 50% more web pages infected in the last quarter of 2008 than in the entire year of 2007. In 2005, a now defunct third party payment processor called CardSystems suffered an SQL injection, compromising a reported 40 million credit cards. While Gonzalez has gone down, carders are still very active. A group of white hat hackers that calls itself War Against Cyber Crime recently succeeded in breaking into Pakbugs.com, a Pakistan-based carder forum, and published a list of members' login details and email addresses. Pakbugs.com has since dropped offline . With 213 million cardholders and 1.2 billion credit cards in the U.S., there's no shortage of opportunity for carders to maintain their current pace. When a carder uses one of your existing credit cards, it's called "account takeover." When they use your personal information to open up new credit accounts in your name, it's called "new account fraud" or "application fraud." 1. Protecting yourself from account takeover is relatively easy. Simply pay attention to your statements every month and refute unauthorized charges immediately. I check my charges online once every two weeks. If I'm traveling extensively, especially out of the country, I let the credit card company know ahead of time, so they won't shut down my card while I'm on the road. 2. Protecting yourself from new account fraud requires more effort. You can attempt to protect your own identity, by getting yourself a credit freeze , or setting up your own fraud alerts . There are pros and cons to each. 3. Invest in Intelius Identity Protection and Prevention . Because when all else fails you'll have someone watching your back. Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Speaker discussing credit card and debit card fraud on CNBC
 
Michelle Paterson Speaks Out On Obama Top
While her husband spent the day denying he " ever took a shot " at President Obama as payback for his vote of no confidence this past weekend, Michelle Paterson went to bat in his defense. At a luncheon earlier today, New York's first lady told the New York Post : David's the first African-American governor in the state of New York and he's being asked to get out of the race. It's very unusual and it seems very unfair. But she still has hope for her husband, saying that "this might give Dave the opportunity to show who he really is to New Yorkers." NBC New York has video: View more news videos at: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video .
 
Ryan Mickle: Age of Stupid: Environmentalism is Alive and Well Top
On Monday night, I participated in the world's largest movie premier, for a documentary. The film, called the Age of Stupid has been hailed as the future of film, and criticized by some for its depressing take on the state of our planet's climate. I believe, however, that the film was revolutionary for slightly different reasons. Age of Stupid reveals that environmentalism is alive, well, and going mainstream. Even more, the film shows that our current consumer lifestyles are fundamentally incompatible with the reality of our climate situation. Either we convince our governments to intervene and take control, or prepare for the worst, as we waste time celebrating recycling our plastic water bottles. A film about our last warnings is itself that warning The film was harsh, there is no question about that. In the Age of Stupid , the planet and human race has been destroyed. The film's narrator, Pete Postlethwaite, reviews clips of Hurricane Katrina, melting glaciers, in disbelief that we had been so distracted by our pursuit of growth that we ignored our only chance to avoid literal suicide. The Age of Stupid itself is that warning. The film's premiere came up a bit short with its MTV VJ host, Gideon Yago and celebrities who arrived by rowboat to walk down the green carpet made from recycled bottles. But, beneath the amateur mistakes of the fresh-out-of-the-theater Hollywood environmentalists, is a movement. In fact, contrary to sustainability poster boy Adam Werbach's vocal position in 2005 , environmentalism is alive, well, and going mainstream . As a film that was largely funded by its fans , it is, itself, the product of activism. And guess what? Watching this film might be like watching a depressing version of Sesame Street for all us old school environmentalists, but we don't speak the language of the mainstream anymore. While we are composting in our San Francisco homes, the rest of the world is celebrating recycling their plastic water bottles. And this movie finally told them that plastic water bottles take 800 times more energy for water that is zero times healthier . Age of Stupid finally reveals that we're still screwed, even if we drive Priuses and buy organic food and less toxic home cleaning products. Either we completely reinvent the way we live, or the fat lady sings. And she is warming up in back room. Is Wall St. fundamentally incompatible with our climate situation? The reason for mentioning Adam Werbach above is not because I like to pick on him . I tend to agree with him that it is businesses and their tremendous influences on our lives and governments' policies that hold the key to driving real change. This holds especially true when the government in question is too slow and conflicted to lead us along the right path. But Age of Stupid reveals that our consumer lifestyles and and our distraction with Wall Street's measure of wealth may be only be a red herring. Our stock markets could recover, but they don't measure the ultimate health and well-being of our society. As they exist today, it could be quite the opposite. As brilliantly shown in the film, we have two choices. Our arguably conflicted governments introduce strict policies that limit and reverse our accelerating contributions to irreversible climate conditions, or we fundamentally reinvent the ways Wall Street measures its performance. We simply cannot afford to rely on the current incremental approach to buying "greener" stuff. The problem is the stuff. Yet, our economy will succeed. We will succeed. But we are not in a recession. We are in a transition. And it all starts with a wake up call like this one. Ryan Mickle is Co-publisher of Triple Pundit and Founder of Companiesandme . You can follow Ryan and Triple Pundit on Twitter. More on Green Living
 
Joe Peyronnin: Fox News Snub Top
President Barack Obama seems to be just about everywhere selling his presidency in response to sagging poll numbers. Everywhere, that is, except Fox News, where Obama's snub has caused a stir. Throughout the summer months the president pretty much stood on the sidelines during the health care debate as House and Senate committees battled over the shape of the bill. The president's posture left an opening for those opposing proposed changes in health care to loudly speak out. And the insurance industry and other interest groups joined in the fray in an effort to rile up Americans against reform through advertisements and an aggressive PR campaign. Town hall meetings disintegrated into shouting matches by interest groups. Ridiculous claims like "death panels" were spread with jarring effect. But make no mistake about it, the shouting also reflects the general frustration many Americans have with their government, period. An economic collapse, huge unemployment, financial and automobile bailouts and deep American involvement in two wars certainly are enough to get most people's ire up. As Rodney Dangerfield might have said, "take my government, please!" So over the past few days the president began an all out effort to regain control of the debate. His approach was a media blitz of appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows and David Letterman. The tactic is intended to counter the endless chatter on cable news, blogs and tweets that makes it hard for any message to break through the din of democracy. An axiom among marketers is, "When you are tired of seeing your own advertisement, most of America is just becoming aware of it." This morning polls indicate that President Obama's blitz may have bumped his numbers up a bit. To quote NBC's Chuck Todd, "If you voted for Obama, it helped, and if you voted for McCain, it didn't change your mind." But there was one notable exception to the president's news blitz: Fox News. Many in the White House say that Fox News has been more than an adversary to President Obama; rather it has an anti-Obama agenda. The president's advisers complain that Fox is one-sided; especially commentator Sean Hannity's show, or they point to charges of racism and "eugenics" coming from entertainer and host Glenn Beck. And the White House was unhappy that Fox was the only major broadcast network not to carry President Obama's recent speech to a joint session of Congress. Advisers to the president no doubt made the calculation that there was no upside in appearing on "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace. Wallace's recent interview with former Vice President Dick Cheney was likened to "teenage girls interviewing the Jonas Brothers" by a prominent conservative columnist. Furthermore, since a large portion of the Fox audience doesn't believe in the president and his policies, he is unlikely to win any converts. As a senior executive for CBS News, I remember being caught in intensive discussions with White House officials working for Presidents Reagan and Bush '41, who were against Dan Rather interviewing their president. In those days Rather was the top anchor, CNN was new and the only cable news outlet and there was no Internet. So suffice it to say that it is not unprecedented for a White House to ban a network for unfavorable coverage. Still it is not a good tactic. President Obama was wrong not to appear on "Fox News Sunday" at the same time he appeared on every other Sunday talk program. Press bans are a slippery slope and are not healthy to our democracy. They can be applied capriciously and punitively against any news organization. They can have a chilling effect on coverage. Ultimately, bans against news organizations by the White House run counter to the spirit and intention of our founding fathers. Even though many Fox viewers may not agree with the president's policies, they are Americans too. So, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, "Cherish... the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention. Do not be too severe upon their errors, but reclaim them by enlightening them." More on Fox News
 
Marissa Bronfman: One Stop Shopping for Greening Your Home: Green Depot Has It All Top
Five years ago a pregnant Sarah Beatty was busy feathering her nest when a shocking environmental health scare proved her home to be toxic. Angry but empowered, Beatty began her quest to find healthy, safe home products yet quickly realized that there was limited access to these sorts of things, especially on the east coast. In the face of this green product drought Beatty became what she calls "an accidental entrepreneur" and saw an incredibly fertile opportunity to create a one-stop shop for green building products and services. In 2005, Green Depot was born. Fast forward four years and you can find a Green Depot in nine different cities, including their flagship store in New York City on Bowery and their e-commerce site, greendepot.com . Media and consumers alike just can't stop praising this eco destination , with The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and more clamoring to dole out accolades for Green Depot . Perhaps poised to become the Whole Foods of construction and renovation, one thing's for sure, Beatty has expertly provided us with a place for us to feather our nests in all shades of green! Keep reading to find out how this determined new green business woman has earned Green Depot 's moniker as America's leading one-stop shop for building solutions! Green Depot sounds like a fairytale success! Tell me about some of the challenges you experienced. Starting a new business was more challenging than I ever imagined. I was naïve about the obstacles I'd face and figured that there were lots of consumers out there just like me who would want these products -- even if they didn't quite realize it yet! I came to the business as a complete novice in construction, sustainability, green practice, materials and supply but ultimately, being "new" to these sectors has helped me in my role as translator and advocate for the customers I serve. There has been a lot of confusion in the marketplace surrounding what is "green" and "greenwashing." Early on I recognized that a key component to our leadership and success would be establishing an even-handed assessment system for the products Green Depot offers, which we call CLEAR . This easy-to-read icon system awards full- or half-toned icons based on whether products meet or exceed internal standards in: C onservation, L ocal, E nergy, A ir quality and R esponsibility (CLEAR). Green Depot 's proprietary filter is the result of a year's work with our internal team and experts affiliated with the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production . The economy's reversal last year has also put strain on our business but luckily our customer base is diversified -- it ranges from developers and corporations to affordable housing institutions and homeowners. The downturn forced us to work and think even harder about how to remain sustainable, how to be nimble and quick in responding to new opportunities. Although traditional construction is down, the green building sector is growing faster than ever! Green Depot has been fortunate enough to experience continued growth and we are proud to have become the nation's leading one-stop shop for green building solutions. I often repeat what I heard a colleague of mine say years ago, "In 10 years, there will be no such thing as green building, building will just be green ." All indications prove that to be true. I see Green Depot as the portal for the increased product demand and the know-how required. You have obviously responded to obstacles by turning them into opportunities! What are some other rewarding experiences you've had thus far? Seeing customers in the store every day that are gratified and empowered by what we have to offer and share is always a huge reward. We've had scores of schools bring students ages 8-18 to the Bowery for learning labs -- seeing those kids engaged is so inspiring, it reminds me why I am doing this. An unexpected reward has been Green Depot 's ability to spur local green manufacturing -- Ivy Coatings paints & finishes and GreenMaker Industries commercial cleaning products are just two examples of "locally Made-in-NYC" products we've helped bring to market. I am so proud that Green Depot Chicago has played a leadership role in the weatherization and retrofit programs underway there. I believe we've become a leader in the green marketplace because of our thoughtful approach, our motivated staff, and our willingness to learn and adjust every day . I'm proud that Green Depot can be a change agent for better products and innovation in the marketplace. With so much talk about going green these days, it can be overwhelming to know where to start -- any advice? When it comes to any "change" I am a big believer in starting with oneself. Consider your own buying decisions, use your own home and discover the resources that are available in your own backyard and neighborhood. It really is all about small steps. That way you have credible insight and experience to share with friends and family. It will certainly make a difference in how your feel about the way you are living your life within your own community and you'll learn things you never knew before. ( Go here to find out more about Green Depot 's larger, more notable projects. Among the cool stories: a renovation of actor Adrien Grenier's Brooklyn townhouse, HGTV's "Fun Shui" Nursery, and Barney's 2007 department store holiday windows. ) As a Green Depot connoisseur, what are some of your favorite products being sold? The Family Air Care Kit is a breakthrough product -- developed by National Jewish Health, the #1 respiratory hospital in the US -- it tests for the five most common triggers of asthma and allergies in our homes (where we spend most of our time). A fun one that I like is the SodaStream seltzer maker -- you can turn tap into sparkling or use a range of their regular, diet, energy and caffeine-free flavors. Of course, I'm very proud of Green Depot 's cleaning products, which are DFE (Design for Environment) approved formulas, and the range of coatings, paints and finishes we carry. As this greening trend continues to grow, what do you see for the future? We all need to be more mindful of our choices and the ways we consume -- it's easy to shift simple routines that cut down both our carbon footprint and our "waste print". It's important to invest in quality items that will last and surprisingly easy to make our homes more healthy, comfortable and energy efficient. Practical steps can be found on Green Depot's website . To ensure our children's children are able to enjoy the same world we do -- if not a better one -- we all must think responsibly about how be build, live and consume. Urban populations like New York City are growing so the infrastructure we build and retrofit needs to anticipate that growth. Protecting the earth's natural resources, reducing carbon emissions and creating healthy, thriving communities are all possible goals to work towards, and opportunities for the reinvention of America. Every person can play a part -- from world leaders to everyday citizens. When we do, we discover the true meaning of the words "community" and "stewardship". My journey with Green Depot has made me even more hopeful about the possibilities for our future. To get in touch with Sarah or the Green Depot team, email contactus@greendepot.com Planning to go green or in the process already? Want more interviews with leaders in the green business? Tell me about it in the comments below or email me at marissabronfman@gmail.com More on Green Technology
 
Fawn Germer: Women Senior Execs Take A Wallop in the Downturn Top
Two weeks ago, I delivered a keynote speech for a Fortune 500 company that, in the mid-1990s, was slammed with a high-profile class-action lawsuit alleging discrimination against 45,000 female workers. The suit said the company denied them equal pay, management opportunities, promotions and desirable job assignments. It alleged that some bosses demanded sexual favors from women. In the end, the company settled for more than $80 million. Back in the day, no one would ever have heard the name of that company and “women’s leadership” spoken in the same breath. Now they are having events celebrating the cause. Was it a great event? Sure. But the CEO wasn’t there, nor were any of the highest-level executives who determine whether women’s leadership is an annual event or a corporate mission. That’s a problem. A recent Catalyst study of fast-track MBA graduates found that “A startling 19 percent of senior women lost their jobs versus just six percent of men.” Okay, wait a minute. That’s three to one. What makes that number even more alarming is that women were already in short supply at the senior levels. The survey, done this spring, is a “snapshot” of what is going on with a group that represents our best and brightest talent among MBA graduates from 1996 to 2007. A Catalyst spokesperson said that the study showed the recession has hit men and women equally – but not women in senior leadership. Those women took a wallop. “That is an astounding number,” said Maureen McGurl, former Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Stop and Shop, which employed about 85,000 people. She thinks that part of the problem is that women tend to rise into staff positions as opposed to operational ones, and those positions are more expendable.  “Companies are so focused on making numbers month to month and quarter to quarter that development programs are taking a back seat,” said Joan Toth, executive director of the Network of Executive Women. “Leadership tends to hunker down and hire in their image or hire who they know rather than take a risk on people who may be in ‘stretch’ assignments. And, who they know are white men.” Corporate leaders, who are mostly male, are turning back toward the tried-and-true. It’s not that they are saying, “Let’s freeze out the women and the blacks and the gays so us white boys can handle things.” They’re saying, “Who can help with this?” And they look around and see who’s around them, and well, it’s mostly white men. “They are thinking, ‘Who do I work with? Who do I golf with? Who do I have a relationship with?’ While women have done a good job of cracking into it, they haven’t fully done it yet,” said McGurl, now president of Sutton Place HR Consulting Group. “I don’t think anyone is out there thinking, ‘I’m going to whack all these women.’ But women are getting whacked. “Women need to be more aware of the threats that are out there and more strategic in sustaining their careers and their advancement,” said Lillie Richardella, CEO of the International Women’s Forum’s Leadership Foundation. “If change is going to happen, they are going to have to push the envelope and push themselves forward. Sitting back and waiting is not the answer because they’ll be sitting and waiting for a pink slip in this economy.” Or in any economy. The good news is that women are playing ball. The bad news is, they aren’t in position to hit the homers. We can laud the many, many successes of women, but power still belongs to white men. Every year, Catalyst issues a report on how women are doing in the Fortune 500. It barely changes. Right now, women hold fewer than 15 percent of the seats on Fortune 500 corporate boards and only 15 women are CEOs at Fortune 500 companies. Let me twist that around. Men hold 97 percent of the top CEO jobs and 85 percent of the top board positions. If women don’t hold those senior positions, nothing is going to change. How does that play out in the office? How can women advance in a crazy climate like this? By pushing harder than ever. By networking and making friendships with the people who matter. By overperforming and overdelivering. We’ve come this far because we’ve only begun to learn to network and propel one another. Now it is time to leverage our friendships and brainstorm ideas and strategies that can propel our companies. “In this environment, you need to change your mindset and think like the CEO of your pyramid,” said Kathleen Guion, executive vice president and division president of store operations for Dollar General Corporation. “That means taking a look -- a hard look -- at every potential opportunity you have to improve the business. Deny the status quo and rethink what this new environment is going to mean, not only for the next 18 months, but for the ‘out’ years…The world is a different place. What’s critical these days is understanding what that new world is about and how you are going to fit into it.” Don’t share small talk. Share ideas. Contribute. Inspire others to contribute. Lead. Work like hell and make sure those who can advance your career know what you are doing. Help other women. It doesn’t matter who gets “there” first. Someone needs to get there to help bring the next woman along. Otherwise, things will never change.
 
Gov. Paterson Insists He Didn't Take Shot At Obama Top
ALBANY - David Paterson insisted comments he made yesterday about Barack Obama's effectiveness in Washington were not a "shot" at the president. This weekend, it was reported that White House officials delivered a message that Paterson not run for re-election.
 
IRS Cuts ACORN Ties Over Pimp/Prostitute Video Scandal Top
 
Stan Dorn: Public Option Is Not Essential Top
If health reform legislation does not guarantee a public option, could progressives support it, in good conscience? I hear this question a lot. My answer is yes -- so long as the bill provides millions of low-income uninsured with affordable, comprehensive health coverage. To be clear, giving consumers the choice of a public option could be a critically important check on high prices charged by private insurers as well as discrimination frequently encountered by people with health problems . If proposed insurance regulations that are part of health reform legislation fail to curb these practices, a public plan could offer consumers a relatively humane and efficient alternative. Most people support such a public option , and the main arguments against it involve absurd fantasies about a government takeover of American health care. But what happens if the public option falls to the cutting room floor as health reform moves forward? Should Congress "kill off any legislation that doesn't have a public-insurance option"? That depends on the legislation. Nearly 50 million people in this country lack health insurance. Many are people of color. Most are low-income workers and their families . These Americans work hard, sometimes holding down multiple jobs. Yet they are cheated out of the dignity and security of knowing that they and their families can see a doctor or fill a prescription when they get sick. Of course, the consequences of uninsurance go beyond indignity and insecurity. All too often, uninsured women with breast cancer have their disease diagnosed too late for effective treatment , because they can't afford to go to the doctor. Uninsured adults with diabetes and high blood pressure can't afford to fill their prescriptions, with grim and sometimes fatal results. In 2006 more than 22,000 preventable deaths were estimated to result from a lack of health insurance; that number is doubtless higher today. So suppose health reform legislation provides health coverage to tens of millions of low-income people -- but it fails to guarantee a public option. Maybe the legislation contains a " trigger " that creates a public plan if the insurance industry fails to perform. Maybe it offers consumer-owned health insurance cooperatives rather than a Medicare-like public option. Should progressives oppose such a bill? Two thought experiments may shed light on this question. First, imagine that Congress is considering a major expansion of the food stamp program. The bill could greatly reduce hunger in America. Would progressives nevertheless fight to defeat the legislation, since, in buying the products of major corporations, food stamps merely line the pockets of industry? Not very likely. MoveOn.org, for example , has campaigned to stop food stamp cutbacks, despite increasing criticism of the food industry for a range of troubling practices. Here's a second thought experiment. Imagine you're with dozens of your uninsured neighbors, low-wage workers with chronic illness. Maybe they clean your office building, care for your children, or help with your dry cleaning. Facing you are two buttons, green and red. Push the green one, and your friends and neighbors get health insurance. Chronically ill parents survive and get to know their grandchildren. Push the red one, and these low-wage workers remain uninsured. Some needlessly suffer severe illness. Others die, and some of their children grow up without a parent. Either way -- whether you choose red or green -- there's no public option. Which button do you push? The answer is clear. Legislation that provides affordable access to essential health care for millions of low-income, uninsured Americans deserves strong progressive support -- even if that means the fight for a public option continues into the future. Cross-posted from The New Health Dialogue Blog More on Health Care
 
7 Pranks That Ended Badly For The Perpetrator (VIDEO) Top
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Ben Berkon: Republican Party Posts "Looking for Inspirational Black Guy to Run For President in 2012" Ad on Craigslist Top
In political news, the Republican Party has reportedly placed an advertisement on Craigslist which reads "looking for inspirational black guy to run for President in 2012." While on the surface it may seem like a desperate and even illegal method to recruit Presidential candidates, the Republican Party has been scrambling for ways to compete with their "unfortunately diverse" political rival. Here is the original Craigslist ad (it can also be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/Republican2012Craigslist ): We here at the Republican Party are looking for an inspirational black guy to run for president in 2012. The Republican Party has always been the party of the people, and apparently the people want a black president. Even though we have Michael Steele, who could potentially be a solid black guy for the job, we feel that his obsession with oreo cookies might be a distraction while he's in the Presidential spotlight. We are essentially looking for any black person - any black person at all - who is willing to risk their good name, and run for President in 2012 against Obama. Ideal candidates include ones with little-to-no jail time, a willingness to at least pretend like they've voted Republican in the past, and a knowledge of what politics are. But those are just ideal candidates, we'll really take any black guy. Prominent Republican and former vice-president Dick Cheney claimed, "There is no way that we posted that advertisement. If anyone is familiar with the Republican Party, they would know that we would never attempt to put a youthful, black, inspirational, intelligent, or politically-interested candidate in office. I hope that all of this nonsense can be put to rest, so we can continue to search for our next laughable puppet candidate." Despite Cheney's denial, anonymous campaign staffers admitted that Republicans have "aggressively pursued" other black people in prior elections. For instance, in 1996, Chicago Bulls player Scottie Pippen was offered a "lifetime of free haircuts," and most recently in 2000, the Republicans offered any Wayans brother their own sitcom in exchange for running on the Republican ticket. According to sources, however, the offer was pulled off the table after Keenen Ivory was the only Wayans brother to take them up on the offer. (For more articles and segments of this kind, visit www.SomethingYouShouldRead.com .) More on Craigslist
 
Lauren Fornes: Five Solutions When Stress Comes in Threes Top
It's been a busy few months that included moving from San Francisco to Austin, discovering I'm pregnant and deciding to pursue my dream of building a company. It's good things come in threes. I don't think this newly knocked-up, returning Texan entrepreneur could handle much more. Pregnancy and a cross-country move are hard enough, but layer on the stress of launching a new company and I may have aged a decade this summer. For a few months now, I've been holed up with my team building The Skinny - the first online, members-only sample sale for skincare products (i.e. luxury skincare brands at affordable prices). But one thing is clear, pregnancy hormones aside, all the stress is taking a toll on my skin. "The mind and skin are connected on many different levels," psychodermatogist Karin Mallin explained in an interview with WebMD . "A lot of nerve endings are connected to the skin, which wraps around the organs, so as emotions are played out neurologically, they can be expressed through the skin just as stress can be expressed through gastrointestinal symptoms, increased anxiety, or hypertension." At one point recently, while trying my darnedest to control a sudden bout of adult acne and an unruly to-do list, I got to the end of my rope. I decided to outline five things I need to do every day to make myself more productive, energetic, attractive to my husband and (if all goes well) sane. I jotted them down here, and thought maybe they could help some other stressed soul: • Workout . This is a non-negotiable, so I drag myself away from the computer and around Town Lake or over to Black Swan Yoga any chance I get. • Walk the dog . Nothing relieves stress like a stroll along Auditorium Shores with my husband and our Bernese mountain dog/squirrel-hunter extraordinaire. • Invest in my skin . What can I say? Skincare is my business. But as my stress level goes up, my breakouts do too. Currently loving Dr. Ladd's Pumpkin Clarifying Mask . • Ditch the TV . I haven't had a television since college, but that's not to say I don't take in my fair share of Hulu. During high-stress time, I opt for a book. Currently wrapping up Loving Frank . • Get a housekeeper . OK, I still haven't done this. Regardless, I sleep better in a clean house. This to-do just became my next priority! Do you have skincare concern that you suspect is brought on by stress? I'd love to hear about it... I may even have a few helpful tips to share!
 
Dogfighting Ring Busted At Suburban Day Care Top
Cook County sheriffs raided a suburban day care Tuesday after learning it was being used as a front for what officers described as one of the most gruesome dogfighting operations they had ever seen. Three people were arrested and nine dogs were found during the raid on a licensed home day care in Maywood, including one with a leg twisted backward, another whose limbs appeared to have been nearly torn off and a puppy that had had an eye ripped out. Ten children were being watched at the time, police said. "Kids were playing on a swing set just 10 feet away from a vicious fighting dog and blood-stained floors," Sheriff Tom Dart said in a statement Wednesday. "The very equipment used to train these dogs to kill was being kept in the garage right behind the house. To be engaged in this sort of activity is disturbing enough, but to take a chance with anybody's children is reprehensible." One of the three alleged ringleaders is related to the day care owner, who denied any involvement with the dogfighting, police said. Animal Crime Unit officers described the scene at the day care and at two other homes they raided as among the most gruesome they have uncovered. In the garage, police found an 18-month-old pit bull with three 4-week old puppies. They were all kept in a wire cage soaked in feces and urine, and all were emaciated. Police believe the puppies were already being used in fights as "bait dogs." The rescued dogs are now at the Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge. Two of the men have been charged with felony dog-fighting. A third man, who kept the dogs at his home for $60 a month, is charged with being a felon in possession of an un-spayed or un-neutered dog. There are 2 other men who are targets of the investigation, but who have not yet been charged or apprehended. More on Animals
 
Robert Slayton: Obama, America and Race Top
A number of prominent Americans, from former president Jimmy Carter to various news commentators, have charged President Obama's critics with racism. Many of these folks have reacted with anger, claiming that they are nothing of the sort. Few of the president's attackers, for example, have used the "n-word". In a recent New York Times , David Brooks pointed out that next to the latest tea bag rally in Washington was a black family reunion, and folks mingled easily from both events. This is the result of some failures in communications and analysis by the left. The first is that we have not redefined racism to keep up with a changing face of evil. For most Americans, the term "racist" is frozen in time, a stereotype of a Southern sheriff with a hose, a dog, and aviator sunglasses. We have never replaced Bull Connor in our pantheon of villains. In the meantime, racism changed. It became more subtle, changing its form, its language, its mode of attack and its targets. For decades Republicans -- from Nixon to Reagan to two Bushes -- appealed to prejudiced whites in various forms of code, and then acted in high dudgeon when we called them out. After all, they didn't sound like Rod Steiger in In The Heat of the Night , but they still ran Willie Horton ads. And they got away with it because Americans hadn't updated, hadn't renewed their notion of what racism is. The other problem concerns what Barack Obama stands for. Obviously, he is a black man. But he is also a lot of other things that are a threat to some Americans, he is really so much more a danger than just the color of his skin. The hateful reaction to the president is about race, but so many other cultural and social values as well, it is hard to separate out any one strand. Above all, Barack Obama, as president of the United States, represents a changing America, where whites cannot reign unopposed. Like the former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker, many folks feel the greatest assault on this country comes from the fact that many of its citizens no longer sound like the stereotype of folks at a NASCAR rally. Thus a lot of the gut opposition to Obama is engendered, not by his health care plan, but by the ever-present declaration in the news that whites are already a minority in many places, and destined to become so as part of the nation in a relatively few years. Obama is a lot of things that are scary, and only one of these is the fact that he is black. He is sophisticated and worldly, a problem for those who think the swine flu vaccine is a plot to emasculate gun owners. He is educated, intellectual and articulate. Americans have always had a love-hate relationship with the smarter members of their society, taking pride in the accomplishments, but often resenting those whose mental gifts stand out. There is even the fact that he is thin in an obese country, and thus reminds folks that they are not eating the things their doctors are nagging them about. The president is clearly not a fan of bacon, the latest fad in some circles. Why is this coming up now, if not as a subconscious rebellion against the changes towards healthy life styles that some folks are trying to get adopted, and others resisting? As Frank Rich noted in his Sunday column, "They need a scapegoat for all that ails them, and there is no one handier" than a modern, sophisticated president "who just happens to be black." This is not the first time this kind of national culture clash has broken out in hateful ways. The nineteen-twenties, for example, was the heyday of the Ku Klux Klan, an organization that enjoyed a membership in the millions back then. While the Klan is commonly known for its racism, historians now know that this organization was neither exclusively Southern nor poor. The state with the largest Klan population was Indiana, and nationwide, the typical person under the sheets was lower middle class, afraid of losing ground in an era where there were many technological changes affecting jobs. And there were substantial women's auxiliaries, just as females come out to anti-Obama rallies today. There were other reasons people joined the Klan back then, that mirror some of the stresses America is undergoing today. The 1920 Census showed that for the first time, fifty-one percent of Americans lived in cities, which meant that the home of foreigners, not 100% Americans (as they called themselves in those days -- you could be an American, but not a real, 100% American) would dominate the country. This terrified many Americans, who felt that their way of life was being pushed aside, just as many folks fear the same thing today. In a similar vein, the latest theories on Prohibition are that it was not just a silly, extremist way of dealing with alcohol, but an attempt by small towns to pass pejorative rules that reigned in big cities. This was actually one gigantic bout of culture wars, in other words. And all this fear, resentment, anger was being felt and expressed, often with sickening violence against minorities and the foreign-born, at a time when the presidents were old stock Americans like Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. We, on the other hand, live in the age of Obama, whether the fear mongers can deal with it or not. Are they threatened because he is a black man? Yes, but by so much more as well. Progressives need to eschew simple name-calling, and get to the myriad prejudices that are at the root of this hate (including, but not just limited to racism). They must then address all of them in a systematic and comprehensive fashion, in a way that combines sophisticated analysis with popular recognition of the new face of evil. More on Barack Obama
 
Climate Change Doubters Impede Water Plans Top
A growing list of studies show that global climate change will mean less water in the Colorado River, but varying perceptions about climate change are a hurdle to making decisions about future water supplies. That was one message delivered Tuesday evening in Aspen by Dr. Eric Kuhn, general manager of the Colorado River Water Conservation District. Kuhn spoke at the Aspen Global Change Institute, which is hosting a workshop this week to explore how climate scientists and water managers can provide better information to government decision makers.
 
Dr. Alex Benzer: Travel as Therapy, Pt 2: 10 Ways to Heal the Soul & Expand the Mind Top
While ruminating over my summer travels in Northern Europe, I came up with 10 ways the trip affected me positively.  Last week, I shared the first 5 ways travel can transform you.  They were: 1. You increase your patience. 2. You become more resourceful. 3. You open your heart to strangers, becoming better at giving and receiving love. 4. You lower your expectations and end up happier. 5. You suspend judgment, becoming more tolerant. Here are the rest of them: 6. You get to feel poor and develop your compassion. The moment you cross the border into a country with a new currency is a humbling one, because you are literally penniless.  Nobody wants those bucks you’ve got in your wallet, so you’d better get hold of some euros, yuan, zlotys or kroons pronto if you want a popsicle. Until you find a working ATM, you get to experience what it’s like to have no money at all.  Perhaps then you will have more compassion for Oliver Twist, as he stared, hungry and forlorn, at all the goodies behind the London shop windows beyond his reach.  Then again, if you’re in London in 2009 with dollars in your pocket, you’re bound to feel poor anyway. 7. You get to feel rich and develop a more expansive state of being. Once you do manage to score some yuan or zloty in a place like Beijing or Warsaw, things start to look a lot sunnier since the cost of living in most parts of the world is lower than in America.  Some spectacular meals in Beijing cost me less than ten dollars, and a magnificent recital at the Warsaw Chopin Festival was a mere 6 beans.  But beyond just being able to afford more stuff is the expansion of the mind that comes along with it.  You feel wealthier, which in turn allows you to enter a more expansive state.  From there, more abundance is possible – and more munificence (try leaving a $10 tip in a small family-run restaurant in Costa Rica and watch what happens).  With this new mindset of abundance, you’ll carry yourself differently and think differently – and perhaps dare to achieve greater things. 8. You wake up to your senses. I was in Berlin and stumbled upon a corner mom-and-pop produce store owned by a Turkish couple.  I bought a box of cherry tomatoes and bit into one on the way home, and – heilige Kuhe! (that’s German for ‘holy cow’)  It was like a bomb of flavor exploding in my mouth, dizzying in its intensity.  Who knew that tomatoes could bite back?  Your brain is supremely skilled at filtering out the familiar and telling you only about what matters – namely, change.  Travel bypasses that filter and awakens your senses by confronting you with the unfamiliar.  The mind then demands an explanation to the question, “What the hell is this?”  That’s when you start to see, hear, feel, smell and taste afresh. Now you have to stop and really take in the baby-blue Art Deco building in Riga.  You have to listen to the folk singers in Warsaw Old Town Square and taste the cepelinai (zeppelin dumplings) in Riga.  You have to feel the lumpy cobblestone under your sandals in Tallinn and smell the damp, salty breeze coming in from the Baltic.    In short, you get to meet the world again, as if a child: “Hello, world.  It’s me.  Sorry I’ve been tuning you out for the past couple of decades.  I promise to pay more attention from now on.” 9. You get to stop compulsive behaviors. I check email – a lot.  But on my deathbed, I don’t want to think, “I spent a solid 20 years of my life tapping the ‘Get Mail’ button like a narcotized rat – sweet.”  So it was a pleasant side-benefit that, during most of my trip, I simply had no way of getting online (except on the super-swanky wi-fi equipped Estonian bus lines ).  By the time of my return, I was detoxed pretty well from email and phased it out to checking it just once or twice a day. The same can go for smoking (who wants to pay $10 a pack in London?), eating sweets, nailbiting, or booty-calling ex-boyfriends.  You just can’t do those things for a while, so your neurology gets time to let go, tune down, and get you back to normal.  By the time you get back home, you may even realize that you have the option to kick the habit for good. 10. You relinquish your so-called identity.  The elements of self are tethered to people, places and things: you live in the Uppity Northmiddle Side; you hang out with your college friends from Name Brand U; you Chase Bank (no need to make that one up); you’re Senior VP of Very Important Stuff; you drive a Prestigemobile.  But when you travel, you leave the neighborhood, friends, job, titles and possessions that you thought defined you.  And what’s left without them?  Someone freer and far more interesting, usually.  After introducing yourself as just plain George a few times (especially if your name isn’t George), you may start to appreciate the freedom of relinquishing the burden of persona.  This is the Buddhist principle of anatta , or no-self, made manifest.  You let go of the trappings and get down to who you really are, which is the witness.  The witness feels but is not the feeling; she sees but is not the scene.  As a result, she is lighthearted and free to see the world as it is without getting too caught up in it.    Some say this is the ultimate purpose of travel – and the essence of successful living.  In the last stanza of Four Quartets , T.S. Eliot writes: “We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.” So you come back home and start to see it again – not as the world, but in the proper context of a much greater World.  Instead of being a tiny atom looking from the inside out, you are the more expansive version of you, looking from the outside in.  And with the Traveler in your mind and heart, the whole world is now your home. Visit my blog: www.TaoOfDating.com Book for women: www.TaoOfDating.com/women Book for men: www.TaoOfDating.com/men Join me on Facebook email: dralex(at)thetaoofdating.com  
 
Tech Geeks' Celebrity Look-Alikes (PHOTOS, POLL) Top
Justin Timberlake's just been cast as Mark Zuckerberg in the new "Facebook" movie. So that got us thinking: what about our other fave tech geeks? Who'd play Evan Williams in a story of his life? Who's Jobs' celebrity look-alike? Check out the slide show below for our favorite tech geeks and their celebrity doppelgangers. And don't forget to vote! Know other techie doubles? Think you could make a better match? We want to know! Send us the name of the tech geek and a picture of the celebrity you think he/she looks like, and we'll post it on HuffPost Tech. Bonus points for Ballmer... Here's how it works: click the participate button below, put down the name of the geek and his/her celeb match, upload a picture of the celebrity, and click submit. Thank you! Follow HuffPostTech On Facebook And Twitter! More on Facebook
 
Brendan DeMelle: ACCCE Coal Lobby Targeting Key Democrats In Senate Climate Debate Top
America’s Power Army, the sister organization to the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), sent an email this week to its Astroturf ‘army’ laying out the coal lobby’s plans to barrage key Democratic targets in the coming weeks to ensure that energy and climate legislation provides sufficient loopholes to maintain the Dirty Coal status quo.  America’s Power Army, formerly known by the less-militaristic name Americans for Balanced Energy Choices until August 2008 , sent its ‘Eye on Washington’ Fall 2009 update from Washington in the form of a slickly-crafted email blast, complete with personalized introduction (Dear [Insert Recipient Name Here] code) and a banner picture of clear skies with just a few wispy white clouds hovering over the Capitol.  The Army email says: "America's Power Army – along with our parent organization, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) -- is committed to supporting the enactment of legislation that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, protects consumers, preserves fuel diversity to promote greater energy independence; and encourages the development and deployment of advanced technologies for using coal." Admitting that their efforts fell short in the House bill debate, the Astroturf Army promises to succeed in the Senate debate, working on behalf of the average consumer, of course: While we were not successful including consumer cost protection guarantees in the House-passed version of the bill, we are now working with key Senators to seek their inclusion in any bill the Senate passes. And then they reveal who their key Democratic targets are: Recently, a group of eight influential Senators -- Senators Tom Carper (D-DE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Robert Byrd (D-WV), Max Baucus (D-MT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Arlen Specter (D-PA), and Bob Casey (D-PA) -- sent a list of suggestions to Senator Boxer that would encourage the deployment of carbon capture and storage technologies. These Senators understand that technological advancement is essential to address climate change. We will work with these and other Senators to ensure that any climate change bill includes provisions to promote carbon capture and storage technologies. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has begun hearings on the economic implications of climate change legislation. Senator Bingaman has long been an advocate for the same provisions that we support – a limit on the price of allowances -- to prevent energy prices from unexpectedly skyrocketing under a cap-and-trade bill. Other members of this important committee – including Senators Evan Bayh (D-IN), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) – also have raised concerns about the energy price and job impacts of the House-passed bill. ACCCCE and the Astroturf Power Army will be out in full force lobbying these and other key Democrats as various Senate committees begin to hash out their version of climate and energy legislation.  They will ask for as many loopholes and subsidies for the coal industry as possible, and probably still end up unhappy with the bill because it doesn’t do enough to protect the profits of coal barons.  This coal industry PR and lobbying effort has nothing to do with protecting the average consumer from energy price increases, as they like to suggest.  For ACCCE and the Astroturf Power Army, it is all about protecting the coal industry from having to pay for (or maybe someday actually reduce) the CO2 pollution spewing from their coal-fired plants and wrecking the global climate. Here’s an idea for the coal industry – if you are so genuinely concerned about the average consumer’s electricity bill rising as a result of climate and energy legislation (an increase which several analyses show will be minimal anyway) – then please, by all means, go ahead and shoulder the cost increase yourself.  There is no mandate in any legislation that says you must pass on any additional costs to your customers.  Want to be the hero here, coal barons?  Absorb the costs of cleaning up your industry all by yourselves.  If ‘clean coal’ electricity is as easily achievable as you at ACCCE and your ‘Army’ state that it is, show us the money.  Invest a fraction of your vast profits and clean up your act.  Don’t ask taxpayers to foot the bill to chase your pipe dream that coal can ever be clean . Show us the money.  Show us this elusive 100% carbon capture and storage can work.  Prove us wrong, on your own dime.  Come on, we double dare ya.  
 
Joseph Christopher Rocha: Gay Sailor's Abuse To Be Reviewed By Navy Top
After Youth Radio exposed a culture of hazing, including psychological and physical abuse, at a U.S. Navy canine unit in Bahrain, the nation's top Naval officer has ordered a review of how the abuses were handled. The Chief of Naval Operations who ordered the review is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and principal Naval advisor to the President. Deadline for that review is October 6th.
 
Dr. Orin Levine: In the Shadow of AIDS in Africa Top
The last U.S. president, the U.S. Congress and millions of everyday Americans have made fighting AIDS in Africa a priority. The appalling notion that HIV is passed from infected mothers to their children, that it kills 90% of them before their fifth birthday, and that effective treatments exist but aren't being used was the basis for a nationwide, non-partisan movement. Launched in response to this outcry, the $15 billion President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the largest global health initiative ever created. There is another disease killing children in Africa with the same lethality as AIDS. Sickle cell disease is also passed on from mothers (and fathers) to their children, more than 90% lethal by age five years, and like AIDS, it can be managed. An inherited blood disorder that disproportionately affects Africans and persons of African descent, sickle cell disease results in the production of abnormal, misshapen red blood cells that can't easily pass through small blood vessels. As a result, these cells are destroyed rapidly in the body, causing anemia, jaundice, gallstones, and pronounced organ and tissue damage. Sickle cell patients, especially young children, are also easily overwhelmed by certain serious bacterial infections. The online edition of The Lancet last week included new data from Tom Williams and colleagues in Kilifi, Kenya showing children with sickle cell disease have about 30 times the risk of serious infections by two vaccine-preventable bacteria, pneumococcus and Hib. It also showed that these children rarely reach their fifth birthday and that these infections are a major cause of death. Like with AIDS, a set of basic steps and interventions can substantially improve the lives of children with sickle cell disease in Africa. Strengthening health systems is critical for both. In each case, a child's survival and quality of life can be improved most effectively when the health system can diagnosis their condition at birth and then provide a series of continuous treatments and preventive therapies. Today's announcement of $1 billion in new funding for health systems through the GAVI Alliance, World Bank, and the Global Fund could represent a major advance if it is used wisely. This health system approach begins with women delivering their children in a health facility equipped with the tests needed to diagnose these diseases. It continues with access to care that regularly follows the child's development and provides life-saving therapies like penicillin prophylaxis for children with sickle cell disease and anti-retroviral drugs for children infected with HIV. While building stronger African health systems, we can also grant these children access now to life-saving Hib and pneumococcal vaccines. Children with sickle cell disease and those with HIV infection are up to 30 to 40 times more likely to get pneumococcal disease and are at an elevated risk of Hib infections, both of which cause pneumonia, meningitis and other life threatening illnesses. But sadly most of the children who need these vaccines the most have yet to receive them. Together, these pneumococcal and Hib vaccines would give these children a great chance to beat these serious, common and preventable infections. Progress is being made to grant access to these vaccines but it is precarious. The GAVI Alliance , an international vaccine partnership, buys these vaccines at reduced prices and then passes them on to poorer countries for nearly nothing. Perhaps recognizing the importance these vaccines will play for the children in their countries with sickle cell disease and HIV, African countries have been at the forefront of introducing pneumococcal and Hib vaccines. Already, nearly all African countries are currently using or plan to implement the Hib conjugate vaccine, and more than a dozen have applied to the GAVI Alliance for pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. As a result, the children in these countries are now in a position to benefit from these vaccines at the earliest possible moment. This progress, however, is at risk. The GAVI Alliance is in urgent need of a financial replenishment or it will be unable to buy the vaccines that are needed. Additional support from US citizens and the US government could help avert this impending crisis in child survival. Countries like Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon are not eligible for GAVI assistance but not quite rich enough to fend for themselves in the international market. Protecting children in these countries means that we need new financing and vaccine pricing solutions to ensure that no at-risk child is left behind. It seems odd that Americans could be so motivated to address the appalling inequalities behind just one terrible disease and then ignore the other. Isn't it time to consider expanding our support for children in Africa so that we can protect them from both of the lethal blood diseases of the continent -- HIV and sickle cell disease? Follow me on Twitter or join the Facebook cause PreventPneumo to learn more. More on Africa
 
Mihal Freinquel: Hoofing Around: Wedge vs. Heel Top
Heels will never be unfashionable. They are classic...they make legs look fantastic...they are the exclamation mark to every good looking ensemble. But I gotta tell you (and obviously this isn't news to anybody following the bloggers or the "underground" style circles): heels might always be fashionable, but what is in style right now - what is truly in vogue - is the wedge. And I'm not just talking about wedge sandals. I'm talking about the uber chunky, 5+ inches, statement hoof-like wedges that fashionistas everywhere are pairing with micro minis and ultra skinnies to emphasize the glory happening south of their ankles. Granted, this isn't the first time in history wedges have been all the rage -- I had several pairs in middle school and high school (all of which my best friend made me throw out throughout the course of my time in college). However this wave of the wedge craze, in my humble opinion, returned in 2006 when Balenciaga put out the Harness Platform Boots (made popular by the Olsen twins - obvi). A little while later, to everybody's delight who could get their hands on them, they were then copied by Sam Edelmen and sold at a much more reasonable price. After being made popular by the bloggers, they sold out instantaneously and could only be found for like 8 times their value on Ebay. Recently they were re-released and sold at about a 300% markup...not too shabby for the little pair of knockoffs that could... And so the craze was well on its way. And I've gotta say I'm happy, because being a flats girl myself, wedges are really the only lifted shoe I feel comfortable/hot in. They don't hurt, I don't feel like I'm going to fall over, they make your legs look ridiculously long, and something about that hoof-foot!! I can't get enough...never could. A few of the most popular right now? The Acne Atacoma Wedge: After Alexa Chung was seen rocking them on her show, the bloggers went ballistic and each and every one of them bought a pair. They also have them with a wooden looking strip along the bottom instead of that silver eyesore, it's way cuter and if the shoes didn't cost me half a month's rent I'd be all over them. Topshop Ashish Ankle Boots : Any of you who have read my other posts know I have a profound affinity for animal print - specifically leopard print. These wedges are a beautiful sight - and even though they're peep toe and coming out for the fall/winter, I'd endure frost bitten toes for a little foot accessory party any day. Basically anything Jeffrey Campbell : ...or Marni : How do you keep up on this trend? Well you have a few options -- both involve dutifully tracking on the internet, neither involves tracking the runway. For one, you can check out what the what the online stores are selling -- Topshop , Opening Ceremony , even Karmaloop . The other option involves checking out the fashion blogs. Some of my personal favorites? Karla's Closet, Childhood Flames , Where Did You Get That , Fashiontoast , Cocorosa ...just to name a few (I could definitely go on). These girls all put clothes on and take pictures...they're inventive, they're on the forefront, and they're marvelous. So that's the skinny, people. If you're an avid heel wearer I suggest you experiment with these puppies. In the meantime, walk tall, walk proud...happy shopping.
 
Blue Crystal Iceberg Lodge In Dubai - A Sustainable Hotel?!? Top
Now Dubai is poised to get its first year-round ice lodge, Blue Crystal. And considering the amount of energy needed to keep a man made iceberg under 32 degrees in scorching summers on the Persian Gulf, it's almost amusing to hear Blue Crystal touted as sustainable. More on Dubai
 
Janet Kinosian: A Little Yin to Your Yang: Yin Yoga Brings Deep Stress Relief Top
A softer, gentler form of yoga seems to be quietly on the rise. From Los Angeles to London, so-called yin yoga is increasingly being taught at studio classes and yoga retreats, not to mention via books and DVDs. The power or "yang-styled" yoga forms so popular in the West -- with their fast shifts between poses and emphasis on sweat -- have left a gap for more meditative, longer-held stretches, says Paul Grilley, a martial arts and yoga practitioner who helped develop the yin yoga style along with fellow proponent Sarah Powers. He says yin yoga is not a new form, but rather a return to more meditative, traditional yoga. Slower forms -- such as restorative yoga -- already exist, he acknowledges, relying on props to aid with poses and encouraging students to stop when they start to feel discomfort. But with yin yoga, he says, the emphasis is not on a lack of pain, but rather on how to feel discomfort, stay with it and move through it. Yin yoga relies on several core poses that, on first look, do not appear difficult. Most focus on the lower half of the body, such as the hips, pelvis, inner thighs and lower spine. The difficulty lies in the length of time the poses are held without shifting or movement. Each pose is held from two to up to 20 minutes, and long, deeply held breaths coincide with the stretches. This provides for a meditative and mind-clearing practice that helps practitioners learn how to focus on the moment, proponents say, thus reducing anxiety, tension and stress. Some of the names and yin poses are similar to their yang counterparts, such as "corpse pose" and "child's pose," though most have been altered and renamed. The faster-paced yang-style yoga, such as ashtanga or vinyasa, targets lengthening and strengthening the muscles, says Oregon-based Grilley, who teaches yoga nationally and internationally and wrote "Yin Yoga: A Quiet Practice" in 2002. Taoist-based yin yoga targets the connective tissues, ligaments, joints and synovial fluid and the energy channels or meridians that the philosophy hypothesizes runs through them. Adds the San Francisco-based Powers: This means that instead of coming into a pose for a short amount of time and hugging the bones close together by engaging our muscles, [one] needs to pull the skeleton apart non-aggressively and with appropriate pressure and then remain stationary a while, allowing the muscles to remain stretched but without engaging them. Yin poses are not an attempt to stretch the ligaments and connective tissue but to load them appropriately, she says. Kelly McGonigal, a yoga instructor and psychologist at Stanford University and the editor of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, elaborates. "The fourth minute [of a stretch] is not like the first," she says. "If you pull something fast and hard, you don't get a benefit; but if you keep applying moderate, slow and longer pressure, it will eventually relax." Emotional impact Yin yoga's proponents say the physical effects can have a profound emotional component as well, by teaching practitioners how to handle discomfort and strong sensations. For that reason, yin yoga is being used in some addiction and trauma recovery programs. Dina Amsterdam, a San Francisco-based yoga teacher who teaches yin retreats nationwide, says she's found that this form of yoga has emotional and spiritual benefits that "really outweigh what you'd think the benefits could be for a seemingly simpler practice like yin." The centered and contemplative breathing seems to help release emotion, much like thawing ice, she says. Also, because much of the stretching is done when the body is cooler -- as opposed to yang yoga, in which the muscles have been warmed up -- the resulting discomfort helps train the nervous system to be less reactive to the stress of a stretch, McGonigal says. Molly Lannon Kenny, founder and executive director of the Samarya Yoga Center in Seattle, says this form of yoga is especially rewarding for eager-to-recover addicts and trauma survivors because of the need to work through the discomfort -- basically waiting it out: For addicts, when they feel that overwhelming, I-have-to-have-that sensation; i.e. I have to have that cigarette, food, drink, drug or whatever, they learn to feel it, sit with it and see how this challenge unfolds, and see that it [both the physical discomfort and the emotional tension] can indeed pass, safely. As for the injury potential in muscles that aren't warmed up, South Bay yoga instructor Via Page says: "Yin yoga poses are long, held stretches so no warming up is necessary -- actually the yin yoga poses themselves are essentially a warm-up practice." Release stress As for those emotional benefits, they're not limited to those who have suffered trauma, Page says. "I've had many students tell me it's helped them learn to become more deeply relaxed and less angry and stressed-out all the time," she says. That doesn't mean yin yoga stress on inner de-stressing will overtake the hotter, sweatier yang. "Yin yoga might be a hard sell in an environment where students want a real cardio experience," Page says, "but -- despite this -- yin is, and will continue, to grow. Once students get started they can easily see the benefits of adding yin yoga to the mix." It's important to remember that we need both yin and yang, she points out. "Yin makes us very flexible and helps us with a more spiritually-meditative way of doing things, but we need strength-building, as well. We need them both." For more information on sleep, sleep counseling and her book, The Well-Rested Woman: 60 Soothing Suggestions for Getting a Good Night's Sleep visit Janet's website: www.wellrestedwoman.com. Sign up for The Well-Rested Woman's quarterly newsletter: janet@wellrestedwoman.com. Originally published in the Los Angeles Times. More on Wellness
 
Geri Spieler: Ford's Lucky Day Revisited Top
It's been 34 years since Sara Jane Moore stood on a sidewalk 40 feet away from the back door of the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. After all this time, the Secret Service is still trying to understand the mind of that 45 year old woman, mother and doctor's wife who aimed and shot at the head of the President of the United States. Sara Jane Moore did not then, and still has not, fit any potential assassination profile. Which is why, after 34 years, there is a Secret Service agent whose job it is to unravel the logic and use that information to protect our new president, Barack Obama. Forget everything you ever read or heard about Sara Jane Moore and her motives, her aim or that she was not serious. None of that is true. She missed because she was using a faulty gun she bought in haste that same morning as she was heading for the hotel. You see, her own gun, a .44 Charter Arms revolver, had been confiscated the day before, when the San Francisco Police and the Secret Service had her in custody for making threats against the president. Yet, they let her go only to allow her to buy another gun and fulfill her mission. It's just lucky she did not have a chance to test it, as Richard Vitamanti, the FBI case agent said to me in an interview, history would be different. "She had him between the eyes." Here is what happened that day: Ford enjoyed meeting people, saying hello to them, and being true to his belief in being a public president. "The people do not want their president locked away in a bunker somewhere. They want him visible where they can see him and know he is there," President Ford explained to me in an interview. He said he'd stood still for a moment when he came out, deciding whether to cross the street so that he could shake hands with the people lined up on the north side of the street. At that moment, Sara Jane raised the .38 to shoulder height in her right hand, bracing it with the left, cup-and-saucer style. Sara Jane said she could see Ford's lined forehead centered in her sight. The popping sound of the shot reverberated between the buildings on Post Street. The bullet ricocheted off the wall just behind Ford, ripping a scar five feet eleven and a half inches above the ground and sending chips of concrete flying. She raised the gun again to take her second shot and at that moment Oliver Sipple, an ex-marine who had been standing nearby in the crowd, knocked her arm down. She never got off another shot. Geri Spieler is the author of Taking Aim At The President: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Shot at Gerald Ford.
 
Martha St Jean: Genius: a Talk With Edwidge Danticat Top
In conversation four with a woman rocking her field, reader, I bring you Edwidge Danticat . She's an author, mother and it's not a shock for those of us who have come across her work - " genius ". Today, it was announced that she won a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship , also known as the genius award. Growing up, I remember that 'Haitian' was a dirty word. In 1990, I was very young but I remember, emotionally, more than anything else about the FDA imposed ban on Haitians regarding blood donations. You came to the U.S in the 1980s and bore witness to this. How has the view of Haiti and Haitians changed in America? I think, if anything, the view of Haiti and Haitians has grown much more complex. At least I hope it has. When I arrived here in 1981, there were only one of a couple of narratives. Haitians were just coming in large numbers by boat to Florida and this was on the news a lot, so that was one narrative. We were still fighting to keep these people here and they were detained just as they are now, so that part of the narrative hasn't changed. In 1981, people were also talking about AIDS for the first time in the news. They called it something like GRID back then and Haitians were the only people identified by nationality on the high risk group. So that was another narrative. The dictatorship in Haiti at the time and the political violence was another one. In these past twenty plus years, I have seen some movement in the complexity of our narratives. Having Wyclef Jean sing popular music is part of that, but also having people exposed in their daily lives to a whole range of Haitians has helped a lot too. When Breath, Eyes, Memory was just published, people often walked up to me and told me that someone who worked at their house is Haitian. Now there are also a number of people telling me that their doctor is Haitian or their nurse. In Miami where I live, it's still very hard for newer arrivals from Haiti. There is a lot of struggle especially these days, so that still cannot be understated. The Haitian community is glad to call you one of their own. What about should we know about Haiti that is not shown in the evening news? How beautiful the country is. I was in Haiti for Easter with my family. I have a new baby so we hadn't been for a while. We were in Jacmel, in the mountains. It was just breathtaking. The mountains. The beach. Haiti has been battered so much by natural and political disasters, but it is still a beautiful place. We have wonderful art, wonderful music, great literature written by writers who are still living in Haiti. Haiti is not only the poorest country in the western hemisphere. That's another narrative that needs changing. When did you first discover you were a writer or wanted to be one? When I was very little and would listen to my grandmother tell stories, I dreamed a being a storyteller. Later when I would read books and think of those stories, I said to myself, this is one way of being a storyteller, even if you're shy person. I wasn't sure what it was called, but that's when I decided, at perhaps eight or nine years old that I wanted to become a writer. Brother, I'm Dying is a very powerful book; many memoirs do not deal with such poignant issues. How difficult was it to write? Was writing this memoir therapeutic? It was a book I felt I had to write, for my uncle who died in immigration custody as well as for my father who died at around the same time and for the future generation, including my daughter, who was born in the midst of all that. It was indeed very therapeutic to write. I've said this before I think of Brother, I'm Dying as not a me-moir, but a nou-moir, a we-moir; it's not just my story but all these stories intertwined. With the war in Iraq, detention facilities have been receiving more attention. What do you want the American people to know and more importantly remember about these types of places? I think if people knew what went on in these places they would be outraged. Many detention centers in the United States today are privately run. They're businesses and it's all about the bottom line for the private owners and shareholders that the government outsource to. You get a feel of this in a movie like The Visitor , for example. The bottom line with detention centers is making money like any other business. Meanwhile more and more people are being detained. Medical care in these centers is abysmal. People have died who could have been saved because someone is looking at a profit margin and the bottom line. When you write a book, what did you discover anew about yourself, you family and Haiti? With every story, every book, I think I not only discover myself a new, but also recover lost fragments of myself. I laugh and cry through my books. I also grieve and celebrate through them. Do you consider yourself a voice for Haitians? I am one of many voices. No one can be the voice for ten million people. And if anyone could be, it would not be me. I am a voice in a very large chorus. To say that I was the voice for anyone would be to take away their voice. Each individual is his or her own voice. Some of us might speak louder and help others be heard, but no one can claim to be the voice of so many. I like to direct my blogs to young women such as myself. What advice do you have for aspiring writers? I would say read a lot and write as often as you can. I recently read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell , where he says that you have to spend something like 10,000 hours doing something before you master it. I'd say aim for 10,000 hours writing. If you're trying to clock up those many hours, you also don't have time to give up. You have 2 daughters, what advice will you impart to them about growing up as a Haitian/Haitian-American, as women in America? What advice will you share with them that stems from the wisdom of those who raised you and helped shape who you are? Advices to daughters tend to sound clichéd. I can already see my daughters rolling their eyes even before they're old enough to know what it is to roll their eyes, but what I plan to tell them is I guess what my mother told me, as corny as it sounds, know your worth. Follow your own path. Blaze your own trail. Don't let anyone define you. Define yourself. Follow your dreams; you never know where they'll lead you. See, I told you it was corny. What does it mean to you to win the MacArthur? It's an exceptional honor for me. When I sit and think of my ancestors, some of my blood ancestors and some of my literary ancestors, I am moved and shaken that I have been given this opportunity. I am both elated and humbled.
 
New E-Book Reader: Best Buy and Verizon Release the iRex Top
The budding market for electronic reading devices is about to get two powerful new entrants: Best Buy and Verizon. On Wednesday, iRex Technologies, a spinoff of Royal Philips Electronics that already makes one of Europe's best-known e-readers, plans to announce that it is entering the United States market with a $399 touch-screen e-reader. Owners of the new iRex DR800SG will be able to buy digital books and newspapers wirelessly over the 3G network of Verizon, which is joining AT&T and Sprint in supporting such devices. More on Books
 
James M. Lynch: Are You an Internet Addict? Top
I went to the movies the other day and noticed that instead of just the usual courtesy request for people to turn off their cell phones during the movie, additional wording has been added to prohibit texting during a movie. I immediately thought that somewhere in the movie theatre some teen's face was reflected in green or blue radiance from their personal communication device as they texted: "OMG, at movies n they sd no txting during show! WTF! LOL!" or something shorter and more code-like. But this affliction isn't just for teens anymore. Even sitting over coffee with a friend or a coaching client we're constantly interrupted by phone calls and the quick 'check' to see if it's a call they'll take or one they'll ignore. Then there's the buzz, beep or vibration that alerts the cell owner to an incoming e-mail. I thought mail was to be opened and answered at the viewer's discretion, not treated like a missed phone call! Add to this blitz the instant messages and texts that are kind of like talking but instead of speech, we type, and we misspell and abbreviate to the point we need to learn a new language which looks etymologically like it came from early license plate code much the same way that English has roots in Greek, Latin and a few other languages. Just this past Sunday I came home from a charity event and found out that another person in attendance was taking photos with their camera and pasting them up on Facebook in real time, like a reality show or some sort of cultural anthropologist reporting on the mysterious meetings of suburban families to walk for any cause that's affected them or their families. This same person is known to make comments on Facebook at 3 or 4 AM when they can't sleep or to report that someone isn't returning their phone calls with the additional symbol of a 'sad face' using parentheses and a colon for emphasis. I'm sympathetic as the next person, but is a headache or your child's upset stomach a newsworthy event that the other 8 zillion subscribers to your social network are waiting for are update on? So does this preoccupation qualify as an 'addiction'? Addiction is defined on Thefreedictionary.com as: "Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance." That would include those who get emotionally distraught when texts and emails aren't returned almost immediately or who check emails while at social events. The level of compulsion for this activity rests in the same pleasure centers of the brain as do other addictions like gambling, narcotics and alcohol so my vote is 'yes', the preoccupation is an addiction or at least the early warning signs of one. "The very nature of the Internet also lends itself to overuse and abuse, encouraging us to exhibit behaviors that are counterproductive, isolating and disruptive to our closet relationships...to ourselves, our families, our employers and the community at large" says Dr. Dave Greenfield of The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction. Now do I picture people holed up in a padded room, chained to a bed while some sympathetic therapist wipes their fevered brow with a damp cloth as they 'kick' their Twitter dependency? Not really. But a little research shows that extremes are being met and that the threat is real: in China one-third of high school aged children studied showed signs of addiction, including paranoia, when they were without their phones, and two-thirds were "constantly worried" that they would miss a text message when their phones were off. It could get worse, yes, but must it? As a coach I am offering these tips to you, if you even suspect you are becoming dependent on your cell phone and social networking outlets. Share them with those you are concerned about and please realize, we might laugh about it, but it's not a joke by any means. Tips to achieve balance from a coaching perspective: Start your day working on a project instead of on the internet or e-mail. This one adjustment increased my production by an incalculable amount. When I turn on my computer in the morning I spend the first hour working on my most urgent assignments or tasks. After I have moved the project forward or accomplished that day's task I check e-mails and communications. Schedule your email and internet use. This is often the toughest thing to put in place with my clients. I suggest that they plan out 2-3 times a day when they'll check their internet and messaging devices and outlets. This discipline can give you back the sense of control of your schedule that constant instant access has robbed from you. Try it for a week and see for yourself. Share your schedule with others. My personal e-mail signature lets everyone know that I only check e-mail once or twice a day and instructs them to call me on my cell if it is an urgent matter. You are training people how to best work with you and again, it gives you back some sense of control of your schedule. Work your focus 'muscle' little by little. If you are easily distracted, try starting small 'focus workouts', 15 minute blocks of time when you work on just one thing with no distractions. After a while, like a week or two, up that time to 30 minutes and build progressively. By the way (BTW in 'text speak'), even the most 'focus muscled' mind needs a break about every 90 minutes on average to operate at peak capacity so take frequent breaks, but real breaks, where you rest and recharge your brain. Create 'free zones' or places you won't use the internet or where you'll limit its use. For example, during work hours turn off your personal cell and avoid your personal e-mails. If you're getting personal e-mails and texts at work then your production is going to slip and you are ripping off your employer - if you work for yourself this is doubly true! Get help. Seriously, if your texting, e-mailing and internet use has passed the level of socially acceptable behavior and is replacing or endangering your relationships or work then you need to take action now. Ironically, searching the web for internet addiction resources can be a healthy step and there are many to choose from. But start with a friend, a live one, in a live conversation, and tell them of your concern and ask for support. Try the Center for Internet Addiction as I've mentioned above at http://www.virtual-addiction.com/ . I realize that this message is going out via the Internet and will be Tweeted, Buzzed up, Digg'd, posted on Facebook, etc. and there's a certain irony in that. What we're talking is not abstinence or burying your head in the sand to avoid the 'demon technology' or any other doomsday message. What I'm talking about is balance. As the Roman dramatist Terence remarked, "Moderation in all things." I have to go now; I've used up my Internet allotment!
 
David Cay Johnston: GOP Favors Public Option For Property, Not People Top
Atop the front page of the New York Times today is a color photo of Georgia homes flooded up to their rafters , an image that illustrates how when it comes to insurance our Congress applies two standards, separate and unequal, one for property and a lesser one for people. Unlike people without health insurance, homeowners have access to public option flood insurance .  Even those who fail to take personal responsibility to buy insurance to protect their property can get benefits, thanks in good part to politicians who are leading opponents of public option healthcare. Consider the example of  Trent Lott of Mississippi, who was that state's senior senator when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, flooding his home looking out on the Gulf. Lott had not exercised personal responsibility by taking out flood insurance even though it was available from the federal government at low cost. He did have private insurance, but his insurer refused to pay much of the claim , saying it was not wind damage (which was covered by the policy), but water damage (which was excluded).      Weeks later Lott introduced Senate Bill 1936, which would have authorized retroactive flood insurance. The idea came from Representative Gene Taylor, a Democrat who represented the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which should remind us that when there is voter demand for reform, and campaign contributions are not the driving force, the parties have worked together.     Lott's bill would have let flood victims pay 10 years of flood insurance premiums after-the-fact plus a 5 percent late payment penalty. Since this storm was rated a once in 500 years occurrence, even 10 years of premiums would not come close to covering the real costs, meaning a taxpayer subsidy was built into the Lott bill. Instead of being laughed at by his fellow Republicans for promoting socialism, the concept of retroactive relief was warmly embraced, although not the idea for retroactive insurance. Instead the government went with handouts. Senator Thad Cochran, also a Mississippi Republican and at the time chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was key to getting taxpayer benefits for flooded property, according to Taylor's staff.  The benefits were issued and expanded twice, a total of about $18 billion in all, Taylor's staff estimated. Contrast the two Mississippi Republican senators determined action to get welfare for flooded buildings with their votes against expanding SCHIP health insurance for poor children .  Cochran opposes a public option in health care; Lott, now a lobbyist, says Obama should just declare victory after some minor tweaks, a way to oppose without quite saying so. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, the former head of the Republican Party, has spoken cautiously , but also appears to oppose a public option,. But he, too, was an enthusiastic supporter of retroactive benefits for flooded property . Barbour even got the relief expanded and urged everyone to get their government property benefits. There is also an interesting twist in this public option for another aspect of the health care debate - what to do about those who decline to buy insurance. In  Mississippi the relief for flooded buildings came with a requirement that owners buy flood insurance. It went further, requiring a covenant be added to their property deeds requiring the current and all future owners of that property to maintain public option flood insurance.    There is another word for that: government mandated insurance. How about a similar retroactive option for people with a pre-existing condition who do not have health insurance? Many of these people had insurance before the recession cost them their jobs and with it, their health care coverage. Even people who took personal responsibility and had health insurance now may be without healthcare insurance because the recession cost them their jobs or their employer's enough revenue to continue coverage. Why should those who lost their jobs and thus their healthcare insurance be held to a different standard than irresponsible homeowners like former Senator Lott? I call federal flood insurance a public option because it is provided by the federal government., It is sold, however, through individual insurance agents who collect commissions on the policies. Private, for-profit insurers could sell this insurance if they wanted. The problem is that rating the risk of a once-in-a-century or even once in-a-millennium event is difficult and requires a huge pool of capital held in reserve to cover benefits that may be due tomorrow on in the year 2805. Socializing these risks makes sense, and so does trying to minimize them with building codes that discourage building in some areas and require mitigating designs (like putting the first floor 15 feet above sea level). Selling individual policies for flood insurance, as many must do know to get any health care coverage, would be like selling insurance for kindergarten in case you get pregnant or prosecution in case you are a crime victim. Congress is so generous in its subsidies for property that the public option for flood insurance even property built in flood prone areas. And you can literally buy insurance on the day of a flood in some cases, and 1 day before in others.    Along the Gulf Coast, on the barrier islands on the Atlantic, in below-water expanses behind river levees and in desert communities plagued by flash floods, our federal government is there using tax dollars to help take care of damaged property. But people? Providing a public option so people can buy health insurance through the federal government is "socialism," according to Senator John Kyl , the Republican senator from Arizona, a desert state where flash floods are as permanent a feature of reality as sickness and injury. Will someone ask Kyl why he favors what he calls socialist policies for property, but not people?  And what about the denial of coverage you paid for, which so enraged Lott that he filed a lawsuit against his insurer, State Farm? Lott, like others, was told that their policies would cover the modest damage like broken windows and torn roofs caused by the hurricane's winds, but not the sturgeof storm waters, even though the window drove those waters into Lott's living room. Health insurance companies have found more than 1,400 reasons they can retroactively take away health insurance benefits from people, Congressional investigators found after digging through the fine print of insurance contracts. (You, of course, have read and understand every word in your health insurance contract, right?) A woman who had acne was denied breast cancer coverage, for example, though she later got her coverage restored. And health insurance companies have become masters at digging up excuses to rescind policies, as shown by the recent hearings held by Representative Henry Waxman , who chairs the House subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. For-profit health insurers literally reward doctors who deny costly care to people, making corporate-run death panels a lucrative enterprise. As recounted in my book FREE LUNCH ,  Dr. Linda Peeno denied a heart transplant to a man she never met even though she was certain it would cause him to die. She did so in Kentucky, where she had a medical license, by stamping "denied" on a form even though the man was in California, where she was not licensed. Humana, one of the biggest for-profit health insurers, rewarded her and Dr. Peeneo got a conscious that caused her to stop that work and start working to end such abominations. We have elevated property above human lives. That members of Congress who frequently proclaim their religious faith and cite the Bible as their guide would put property above people suggests they need to actually read the texts they claim guide them. Neither Jesus nor the Old Testament prophets ever put property first. They did however denounce those who did, labeling their deeds with a simple word: evil. Two standards, separate and unequal for the health of property and the health of people, are un-American. This bias in favor of property over people should be ended with all deliberate speed by raising the standard for people to that of property. A public option would be one small step in that direction. 
  More on Health Care
 
Mike Alvear: Gay Dating: How to Use Texts Like a Pheromone Top
If you can't master the keys on the phone you're never going to get the keys to his door. Studies show the average person sends or receives over 100 texts a year . If you've met somebody you're interested in, you've gotta learn the art of going from textual to sexual. First, do NOT send an open-ended text. Here's the very worst one you can send: "Hey, what's up?" You may as well have texted: "Would you mind coming up with something interesting to say because I'm so boring the plaster peels off the wall when I talk to it." Not only are you announcing that you've got the personality of a Kansas zip code, you're leaving him in the awkward situation of creating the value for a conversation you started. If you start a text thread don't ask for value; deliver it. Your goal shouldn't be to start a conversation. It should be to bring a smile to their face. Be quirky, fun, observational. Which text would you rather get: "Hi, how are you?" Or "I just saw a drag queen on a mini-scooter stop at a red light and fix her make-up. Can you believe that?" Also, you've gotta reinforce the memory of your interaction--WITH WIT. So tease out an inside joke or some recollection of your conversation. Let's say you were both bitching about your jobs when you last talked. Your text should read something like this: "I swear, my boss is so conceited he takes a bow when he hears thunder!" Remember, the ultimate goal of texting is to bridge it into a fun, awkward-free phone conversation. A couple of other points: Initial texts should be short. Long messages = neediness. And if you haven't noticed, length is the enemy of humor. Proper grammar is a turn-on to the intelligent. PROOF-READ. At least for the first few texts. You don't want to leave them with the impression that you're an illiterate who kant spill. With any luck, your future ex-husband will text some version of this: "What are you up to?" This is a major hint that he wants to hang out. Be confident. Don't be a ninny without an opinion. LEAD. Say something like: "We're going to Martinis at Imax and you're bringing the vermouth!" If he says he can't or he's too busy, here's what you text: "Break your plans. I'm more fun." It won't convince him, but he'll laugh and increase the chance of saying yes the next time. Attract Better Looking Men with the First Body Language Guide for Gay Men. His Mixed Texting Signals Giving You That Confused Look Ostriches Get When They Hear Two Whistles?
 
Lord Weidenfeld of Chelsea: On Turning 90 Top
How does one feel on one's 90th birthday? Not very differently from the last 'round one' ten years ago. But the world has different rules: at 30 you are still adolescent, at 40 a grown man; nowadays men of 50, 60 or even 70 are classified just as old masters in art history, in early, high and late middle age. At 80 you start really aging, but 90? There is no real label: you are an antique. People look at you closely and ask you, as a rule, whether you are still working or have retired. In my case I can only say that I work longer hours, travel more and have branched out in several new directions. My work as a columnist has brought me a new appellation: witness to the century. A venerable title, which led to my being asked by a young reporter the other day how I felt in June 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War and if by any chance I was in Sarajevo. "Yes," I replied. "I happened to have been on a walking tour of the Balkans with Henry Kissinger, Fritz Stern and Jacques Delors. We waited at the Latin Bridge in Sarajevo for Austria's heir presumptive, Francis Ferdinand. As I bent down to fetch a guide book out of my rucksack, a bullet whistled over my head and lodged in the Archduke's heart. My birthday party celebration was a fantastic experience. The great architect Norman Foster and his fiery Spanish wife Elena, art book publisher and psychology professor, gave a party for 240 guests from all over the world. Their Chateau Vincy was once a temple of the muses where Voltaire and Madame de Staël were often guests. Today it is the residence of one of the greatest architects of our time, whose genius revealed itself in a specially constructed grand marquee of canvas and glass cantilevered above the orchard, with spaces for the branches of the taller apple trees and the continuous dining table which wound itself snake-like through the trees. I have invented a new name for my brilliant hosts, Leonard and Leonarda da Vincy. The Chinese impresario David Tang procured a jazz band, and a Tyrolean band played us into the early hours. Food and drink came from internationally famed kitchens and cellars of the area. Publishers Friede Springer, Mathias Döpfner and Hubert Burda chatted with American's most famous moderator Barbara Walters and Lally Weymouth, co-proprietor of the Washington Post and Newsweek interviewer at large. David Frost, television moderator and eponymous hero of the outstandingly successful Frost Nixon play and film, talked with a Hapsburg heir who is successful in the television business. Otto Schily, German former minister of the interior and secret service chief August Hanning, Israel's deputy prime minister Dan Meridor, ten ambassadors from the EU and USA were there. The historians Niall Ferguson and Andrew Roberts chatted with the beautiful Begum Aga Khan in immaculate German. "Even thirty seconds to describe each guest" said I, in my speech of thanks, would take three hours". For me, one of the highlights, aside from a fantastic firework display, was the appearance of eight students of the Oxford Leadership & Scholarship Programme, which I founded for the benefit of future leaders from those regions which have so far only been insufficiently afforded truly elitist education: highly talented young people from central Asia, eastern Europe including Russia and the Near East -- Kyrgyzs, Kazaks, Jordanians and Israelis come closer through studying side by side. My gratitude for so much warmth and affection from all these people should also be extended to those friendly letters of the readers of my Welt column All this gives me the courage and incentive to look forward with God's help to another round birthday, still writing.
 
Mel Martinez Joins Lobbying Firm Immediately After Quitting Senate Top
Former Sen. Mel Martinez has joined the Florida lobbying firm DLA Piper -- just two weeks after resigning from the Senate. Martinez has joined the firm as a partner and will advise on issues ranging from government affairs, litigation, defense, energy and real estate, according to a statement released by DLA Piper. USA Today reports that Martinez will come to the firm with $456,220 in cash from his campaign committee. DLA Piper made $11.8 million last year lobbying for clients that include the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lockheed Martin. Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey left DLA Piper last month amid negative media attention his Freedom Works organization received for its involvement in town hall protests. Under the Senate's post employment rules, Martinez will be unable to lobby the Senate for two years. More here . -- Jenna Staul More on Lobby Blog
 
Airline Tickets To Fight AIDS: Flyers Can Donate Money With Each Purchase Top
MINNEAPOLIS -- Travelers who buy airline tickets already wrestle with add-ons like cars, hotels, or planting a tree to make up for the jet fuel planes burn. Soon, they may be able to donate to fight AIDS in developing countries, too. The three major ticket distributors -- Amadeus, Travelport and Sabre Holdings Corp. -- announced on Wednesday that they've agreed to make donations of $2 or more an option for ticket sellers and buyers starting early next year. The money will go to the Millennium Foundation, which works with United Nations-funded UNITAID to supply low-cost drugs to the developing world to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. They're calling the donation effort MassiveGood. It's optional for everyone involved, including online travel sites, travel agents and corporate buyers such as American Express Business Travel and Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Both of those firms confirmed they intend to offer the donation option to the companies that buy travel through them. But the optional part could be the rub. While the ticket distributors are agreeing to allow and process the donations, travelers won't see the donation option unless it's offered by ticket sellers like Travelocity, travel agents and corporate travel. Tickets sold directly through airline Web sites aren't part of the program. So it remains to be seen how often travelers will encounter the pitch to make a donation. Sabre spokeswoman Pam Wong said by e-mail that Sabre is working on a pilot program "with a small number of agencies, with the goal of having a seamless process in place for travelers to make donations to the Millennium Foundation by early next year." She didn't say whether Travelocity, which is owned by Sabre, would be one of those agencies. Travelport CEO Jeff Clarke said the option will be available for tickets sold in the U.S., the U.K., and Germany starting early next year. He said that for travelers it will show up like any other choice in buying the ticket, along with adding a car rental or hotel. "This is just one more choice for the consumer," he said. He said there's nothing in it for the distribution companies, and they won't collect any of the donated money to cover what they're spending on programming and processing the donations. "We view it as an investment in goodwill for our customers and the industry," he said. The software to process the donations was developed by Amadeus. CEO David Jones said the effort is focused on travel purchases now, but the same transaction software could be used for other online shopping, too. "If we can really mobilize the travel and tourism industry behind this as an industry effort, it's got colossal potential," he said. But "it doesn't have to remain limited to that. It could be any shopping basket, buying anything." This is the first big fundraising effort by the Geneva-based Millennium Foundation, which was founded in 2008 to find innovative ways to finance UN health goals.
 
Farouk Hosny: UNESCO Loss Due To Jewish Conspiracy "Cooked Up In New York" Top
CAIRO — Egypt's culture minister on Wednesday blamed a conspiracy "cooked up in New York" by the world's Jews for keeping him from becoming the next head of the U.N.'s agency for culture and education. Farouk Hosny was defeated on Tuesday by Bulgarian diplomat Irina Bokova in a tight race for the position of UNESCO chair. "It was clear by the end of the competition that there was a conspiracy against me," Hosny told reporters at the airport upon his return from Paris. "There are a group of the world's Jews who had a major influence in the elections who were a serious threat to Egypt taking this position," he said. Hosny's candidacy raised an outcry because of a threat he made in the Egyptian parliament last year to personally burn any Israeli book he found in Egypt's famed Library of Alexandria. While he later apologized and Israel said it had withdrawn its opposition to his candidacy, several prominent Jewish activists spoke out against him in the runup to the vote. "It's not on the eve of an election that one can change one's whole personality and one's whole approach to life," said Shimon Samuels of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Paris, who says Hosni's election would "sink" UNESCO. Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy and filmmaker Claude Lanzmann wrote a protest letter listing comments they took issue with, including Hosni's 2001 description of Israeli culture as "inhumane" and "racist." Opposition came from other quarters as well. International human rights activists, as well as some Egyptian artists and intellectuals, expressed concerns over his role in the Egyptian government's restrictions on freedom of expression. The tight UNESCO race was closely watched, with a flurry of secretive diplomatic efforts between each round. While Hosni was cited as a favorite for months before the election, Bokova gained ground at the last minute as other candidates dropped out, partly amid attempts to consolidate support for a strong challenger to the Egyptian candidate. Hosny, a painter who has been Egypt's culture minister for more than two decades, made the book-burning comment in an attempt to defend himself against charges by Egyptian lawmakers of being soft on Israel. In a damage control tactic during his campaigning for the UNESCO post, Hosny wrote in the French newspaper Le Monde that his book burning comments were made without "intention or premeditation," and should be viewed in the context of his indignation at the suffering of the Palestinian people. Bokova joined her Foreign Ministry's U.N. and disarmament department in 1976, and was her country's foreign minister for a brief period in 1996-1997. She witnessed Bulgaria's transformation from Eastern Bloc nation to European Union member. More on United Nations
 
House GOPer Seeks Co-Sponsors For Pet Health Care Tax Benefit Top
Even as his party blocks Democratic attempts to expand health insurance for humans, a Republican congressman is trying to round up support for a bill that would provide a $3,500 annual tax deduction for Americans to pay for the medical care of their pets. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) sent out a "Dear Colleague" letter on Tuesday asking fellow members to co-sponsor his Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (HAPPY) Act, despite the upsurge in concern over the rising cost of health care coverage for actual humans. "Dear Colleague," the letter reads. "According to the 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey, 63% of United States households own a pet. Indeed, the human-animal bond has been shown to have a positive effect upon people's emotional and physical well being. In families with children, pets help to create a nurturing environment and provide ample educational opportunities. For people in later stages of life, pets offer important companionship. No matter the age of the owner, pets have been shown to reduce stress, safeguard against depression, improve social skills, and even ease loss. "In light of this, please join me in becoming a cosponsor to H.R. 3501, the Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (HAPPY) Act. If enacted, H.R. 3501 would amend the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to allow an annual tax deduction of up to $3500 for qualified pet care expenses. Specifically, "qualified pet care expenses" would be defined as funds spent in connection with providing care (including veterinary care) for a legally owned, domesticated animal." McCotter's proposed legislation has, not surprisingly, been praised by pet's rights advocates who say it will help provide proper care for animals and ensure that people suffering from the recession don't abandon their pets. But considering the political context in which the bill is being pushed, it's hard not to scratch one's head. It has become a mantra within the GOP that health care reform legislation (for humans) being considered by Democrats would drain the government of money at a time when the deficit is already out of control. Moreover, as pointed out by the site, Blogging for Michigan, the congressman's legislation would result in many Americans having a greater financial incentive to provide health care coverage to their pets than to themselves. The IRS only allows me to deduct medical and dental expenses that exceed more than 7.5% of my adjusted gross income. Here's an example from their website: 'Your adjusted gross income is $40,000, 7.5% of which is $3,000. You paid medical expenses of $2,500. You cannot deduct any of your medical expenses because they are not more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.' But apparently I could deduct up to $3500 that I spend on my dog! McCotter has defended the introduction of his legislation by arguing that Congress can, in fact, do more than "one thing at a time." Introduced at the end of July, the bill currently has no cosponsors.
 
Cara Parks: Kid Cudi: The Lonely Stoner Hits His Stride Top
Scott Ramon Segring Mescudi, better known as Kid Cudi , began making a name for himself with the moody 2008 single " Day N Night ," in which the "lonely stoner" describes an inner life of angsty alienation and the effort of maintaining a public persona. But discussing his new record, Man on the Moon: The End of the Day , released last week, the artist emphasizes that there's more to him than the malcontent he's dubbed "Mr. Solo Dolo." "It's supposed to have the yin and the yang," he told me. "Because if I just had the whole melancholy album, then it would be like, this album is about a kid giving up. And that's not true. It's not an album about giving up. It's an album about not giving up. Expressing what's happening and what's really the problem, but then at the same time saying, hey, these are the problems. But there's always hope." Cudi has good reason to be hopeful at the moment. The 25 year-old Cleveland native languished in Brooklyn for four years before his musical career began its recent ascent, describing his album's title as how he felt when he landed in the borough from his hometown. Cudi both downplays his success and seems secure in its assurance. "Everything happened organically and sort of gradually happened. It wasn't anything forced," he insists, but then adds, "That's why I look at my life as somewhat already pre-planned, like a straight-up destiny type thing." This self-assurance on his own destined greatness from a man who sang, "Please save a kid that needs some help/ and I can't see ahead of me so I move in stealth ... though I feel I'll never be complete inside the dark I borrow/ to proceed and remain intact my mental is so unstable," in what he himself describes as his "uplifting" anthem, could potentially be the influence of some famously hyper-confident mentors. Appearances on Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak and collaborations with rap giants like Jay-Z have provided the up and comer with both media attention and inspiration. Kanye has had a particular influence in his work, which can be felt in the down-tempo, genre-bending theme of Man on the Moon . It can also be seen in Cudi's fashionable edgy-geek chic. "Working with Ye is a lot of inspiration right there in itself," says Cudi. "To be inspired to want to create outside of the box and to tell your story. I think that Ye is the epitome of someone who effectively painted his story on the right canvas." The painterly image is apt for Cudi's new album, which critics seem at pains not to describe as a series of "soundscapes." The dense, cinematic elements of the record could be the result of the year he spent as a film student before moving to Brooklyn to pursue music. And while his music focuses primarily on his inner life at the moment, he credits his biography with heavily influencing his music. A Cleveland native, Cudi counts fellow Ohio artists like The O'Jays -- a soul group that had a number of hits in the Seventies -- and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony as pushing him towards a musical career. "Bone Thugs alone is what made me realize that being successful out of a small town was real," he says. "That it can happen. I don't think that it was anything other than the fact that they were real, and they spoke about Cleveland life. The shit that they spoke about in their records was stuff that was happening in Cleveland in those neighborhoods, and I definitely took that and brought it into my world, as far as being true and honest." Eclectic musical tastes allow Cudi to eschew easy categorization. The influence of indie faves Ratatat and MGMT , who collaborated on the album, can be felt in the slow, dreamy quality of Man on the Moon . But he is quick to note that he pursues fellow artists, not genres for their own sake. "I'm not just going to go work with an indie band just because they're an indie band. I have to be into it. I'm already planning something with Ben from Band of Horses ." On the new album, Cudi says he identifies less with early hits like "Day N Night" or the single "Man on the Moon" than with the (relatively) more redemptive " Heart of a Lion ." "'Heart of a Lion' really hits home," he says. "I tell people it's like the new 'Eye of a Tiger.' It's very inspirational and uplifting. And not in a cheesy way, more like in a badass, hey, I'm not going to let nobody fucking stop me. I'm a champion sort of way. I really feel like if Rocky made a new movie, this would be the theme song for Rocky . Or Karate Kid ." He's either overestimating the artistic inclination of the Rocky franchise or underestimating his own, as "Heart of a Lion" comes across less as an unrestrained champion's anthem than the tenacity of a perennial outcast. "The album had to be dark before it could get light," explains Cudi. "So I really touched on a lot of darkness first, in this album. There might even be more darkness in the second album, who knows. But the third album will definitely be light. It will be the arrival. It will be all those uplifting songs that everyone's been waiting for, the epitome of inner peace." However, it's when Cudi reveals his inner tensions that his work is most interesting, a glimpse into both the advantages and pitfalls of slipping between genres and personas: the swaggering performer and the self-critical introvert, the popular heir to a new rap royalty and the artistic scion of a range of influences. While it's easy to wish Scott Ramon Segring Mescudi all the best in his search for inner peace, one can't help but hope Kid Cudi has a few more rough nights in front of him.
 
Margaret Ruth: Authentic, Satisfying People Connections Need Only Three Things Top
Author and Popular Psychic Margaret Ruth answered a reader's question about how to finally experience really great, long lasting relationships. Margaret, First of all thanks for the great advice! I like reading your blog and your postings here a lot! So I had a question about friendship. I see people with lifelong friends and friends that have been around forever, but I have never experienced that. So I'm wondering: how I can make my relationships with friends more permanent? Thanks - C.C. Salt Lake City, UT Your question actually takes about 200 pages - plus the excellent illustrations -- to fully address. I know this because I just sent my publisher the final manuscript for the book Superconscious Relationships: The Simple Psychic Truths of Perfectly Satisfying Connections. The problem is that the book's publish date isn't until 11/2010; otherwise this would be one of those Really Terrific questions to be answering and publicizing from a marketing perspective about a year from now. In the meantime, let me pass on some of the core metaphysical truths about generating perfectly satisfying relationships with others. It turns out that the answer to your question is very simple. The real problem in getting it done is you . It is hard to get all parts of you going in the same directions. It is very hard to know your own truth thoroughly and completely. As you know, I tend to get a very complex type of client for my psychic readings. You complex folks tend to know what to do on an intellectual level, but then all your old habits, and old beliefs, and old hurts all contribute to make it sometimes impossible to generate ideal relationship experiences. Add to this all the cultural misinformation, or myth-information, about the nature of fulfilling human connections and it can get quite messy. But here is what you need to know. There are only Three Things you need to do now and always to enjoy fulfilling, enriching, satisfying personal connections. Here they are: Margaret Ruth's Three Things Know What is True for the Whole You Express What is True for You Others' Reactions to Your Truth are Not Your Responsibility. You can not actually choose for the others, so do not try. So, do not do this step. I want to pass onto you that these are really the only Three Things you ever need to do. There are no more requirements, if your goal is real, enriching relationships. In shorthand, you could call the Three Things: Know your truth, Speak your truth, and other's reactions to your truth are their business. If someone can hear your truth and relate to it, you have the beginning of a connection, a beginning of a relate-tionship. If a person cannot understand you (and remember, you have to understand yourself first - that is Thing 1), you really don't want to be that close to him or her, do you? If someone wants to add requirements to my Three Things (and someone always does), realize that person is most likely about my age as we of the Boomer generation tend to enjoy complications and difficulties. However, if you are one of the younger adults, you can more easily relax into how simple it really is. I am always excited and open to reducing the amount of Things necessary, but adding to the list is verboten. On the other hand, the Three Things only apply to close, personal relationships as opposed to other types such as professional, forced, impersonal or distant. My clients, all of whom are excellent, big-hearted and intelligent people, usually still have a hang up on one or more of these Three Things. I know I do sometimes still. I would like you to start noticing how well you are accomplishing Thing 1, Thing 2 and Not doing Thing 3 (which you cannot do so don't try to). Sometimes you can tell what you are doing wrong, such as having trouble being honest. Sometimes it is not obvious and requires much more investigation. I ask myself questions such as: Did I feel attached to or responsible for the other's reaction? Was my communicating clear and meaningful? Did I acknowledge what was really true for me? Or did I gloss over something really true in the name of brevity, or convenience or to be nice, and now it's bugging me? In many ways, our close connections can be the best mirrors of where we are not quite healthy, joyful or whole, and so I encourage you to keep asking these good questions and keep reaching for relationships that are truly satisfying to you. That all is just the start of a powerful process and journey where you learning to be the most authentic you creates openings to experience the best kind of authentic relationships. There is a lot more to all of this, but for now we will all just have to wait for the dear publisher to get it all printed up and distributed. Questions, comments and ideas are welcome and encouraged. Contact Psychic Margaret Ruth on her Facebook page, email mr@margaretruth.com or call 801-575-7103. You can also get details on private readings, Margaret's classes and blog at www.margaretruth.com and for a limited time, Margaret is taking palmistry appointments (I need to for the next book!). Margaret Ruth has been on radio, television, published in newspapers and magazines and major websites. She is the author of Superconscious Connections: The Simple Psychic Truths of Perfectly Satisfying Relationships (Sept 2010 - O Books Publishers). More on Relationships
 
Fortune 's Stanley Bing: There's No Business Like Flu Business Top
My friend Max is a student of the market, among other things, and is always looking for good investments, so I wasn't surprised when he sent me an article a day or two ago about the newest thing in swine flu prevention. According to Reuters: The patents, held by VeriChip partner Receptors LLC, relate to biosensors that can detect the H1N1 and other viruses, and biological threats such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, VeriChip (CHIP.O) said in a statement. The technology will combine with VeriChip's implantable radio frequency identification devices to develop virus triage detection systems. Shares of VeriChip Corp (CHIP.O) tripled after the company said it had been granted an exclusive license to two patents, which will help it to develop implantable virus detection systems in humans. This fascinated me immediately. As you know, I have for quite some time posited the inevitability that a host of products and services will one day be implanted in human wetware for purposes of convenience and efficiency. Included in this category of human improvement are, naturally, all cell phones, personal digital assistants and video/audio screens. The jawbone, for instance, would make a terrific antenna for any cellular or G3 transmissions if the proper filiment were subtly inserted beneath the skin there, and the mastoid bone behind the ear could hide a multitude of hardware-related objects and is naturally convenient to touch-based control. In the near future, then, we are already seeing technology designed to detect and alert health care officials to the presence of swine flu in our midst. It's only a matter of time before every young MBA will be strolling down the street, hands free, chatting with his peers in the ether, reading tweets or screening home-made video on a little, implanted screen designed to pop down out of a fleshy skin above the eyebrow. How much more convenient life will be for those future digital pseudopods! Will the first volunteers for elective surgery please line up? More on Blackberry
 
Poland: Gosc Niedzielny Magazine Fined Over Anti-Abortion Piece Top
WARSAW, Poland — A Polish court on Wednesday ordered a Roman Catholic magazine to pay a fine and apologize to a woman for likening her to a killer for wanting an abortion and equating the practice with Nazi crimes. Judge Ewa Solecka ruled Wednesday that Catholics are free to express their moral disapproval of abortion – and even call it murder – but in a general way that stops short of vilifying an individual. Solecka ordered the magazine, Gosc Niedzielny, which is published by the Katowice archdiocese, to pay Alicja Tysiac 30,000 zlotys (nearly $11,000) and issue her a written apology. Solecka said the magazine's language was "particularly contemptuous" of Tysiac. It is the latest episode in an ongoing public debate over abortion in Poland, a mainly Roman Catholic country where it is illegal in most cases. Tysiac has become a symbol for the abortion rights movement because she challenged Poland's ban on abortion with the European Court of Human Rights. In 2007, that court ordered Poland to pay her damages of euro25,000 (nearly $37,000) because doctors refused to let her terminate her pregnancy despite serious risk to her eyesight. After giving birth, her eyesight deteriorated considerably due to a retinal hemorrhage and doctors declared her significantly disabled. Following the ruling, the editor of Gosc Niedzielny (Sunday Visitor), Rev. Marek Gancarczyk, wrote: "We live in a world where a mother receives an award for very much wanting to kill her child, but not being allowed to do so." Gancarczyk compared abortion to the ghastly medical experiments performed at Auschwitz by the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele and others. "They had become accustomed to the murders being carried out behind the fence of the camp. And what is the case today? Different, but just as terrible," he wrote. The magazine denounced Wednesday's ruling as an infringement on freedom of speech and said it planned an appeal. Abortions were easily available under communism but with the transformation to democracy the once-marginalized Catholic church regained significant influence. Today Poland allows the termination of a pregnancy until the 12th week but only if the mother's life is in danger, the fetus is irreparably damaged or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. More on Poland
 
Michael Moore: Madoff's Prison Should Host A Viewing Of "Capitalism" Top
IIf Michael Moore had his way, the next screening of his newest documentary, "Capitalism: A Love Story," would be at the Butner (N.C.) Federal Correctional Complex - better known as Bernie Madoff's new digs. More on Capitalism: A Love Story
 
Lee Camp: WATCH: Healthy Americans Against Reforming Medicine Puts Out Crazy Infomercial Top
 
Matthew McConaughey Cannot Stand Up By Himself (PICTURES) Top
Aaron Kraus of the blog "MY BRAIN IS MADE OF THINGS MADE OF GOLD" caught this hilarious trend of Matthew McConaughey's serious lack of balance in movie posters. He found the first three posters and we added EdTV, Surfer Dude, and We Are Marshall for more evidence that he needs people and trees to support him or he will fall down.
 
Stephanie Gertler: Foods for Thoughts Top
The kitchen in our old house was a large room with planked wooden floors and a wood-burning stove. It was hardly state-of-the-art. The regular stove was basic - four burners and one oven. The sink was stainless and shallow. The dishwasher was old, and often needed coaxing. The counters were spare except for a large center peninsula that again, was not modern - not stone and filled with drawers and cubbies - but simply a deep green Formica with an overhang that accommodated as many as seven "bar stools." The kitchen was the hub of the house - a conference room for conversation, the place where kids sometimes did homework, where I could watch the kids play in the backyard as I cooked, where on the all too many nights when we lost power in winter storms, the wood stove threw off enough heat to keep us warm with flashlights standing upright on the counter. There was an alcove for a basic oval oak table that comfortably sat six, although rarely used except for Sunday night dinners. Typically, we opted for the peninsula. Our children were never "picky eaters" - presumably an outgrowth of pureeing whatever Mark and I were having for dinner (before they had the ability to chew). I used a coffee bean grinder and did this not because it was chic and I was concerned about preservatives (that wasn't endemic to the 1980s), but simply because it made sense. To think, had I realized then that I was "ahead of my time," I could have written some sort of hip kids' cookbook a la Jessica Seinfeld. My kids and I still laugh recalling that they were the only ones of their friends who "begged" for frozen dinners packaged in cartoonish boxes and things like hot dogs, chicken fingers and Tater Tots. Looking back, I realize I was the product of my upbringing. My mother was a good and basic cook. Except for the occasional use of a canned vegetable and Campbell's Soup, every meal was "from scratch." I have memories of her shelling peas, breaking the tips off green beans, peeling carrots, and mashing potatoes. Unlike other families who had sodas with dinner, we had ice water. Ginger ale was pretty much the only carbonated beverage we had - and that typically when we had upset stomachs, or as a treat. Eggs, butter, and fatty foods were off-limits for the most part - especially when my father was around. A cardiologist, he was obsessed with our coronary arteries: Nothing to be consumed that had a hint of cholesterol and only a scant amount of salt lest we suffer hypertension - medical words that were common in my childhood vocabulary. Ironically, with all my father's edicts, my mother ultimately died from untreated hypertension and atherosclerosis. What with the austerity of my diet as a kid, I longed for invitations to dinner at my friend Janie's house. Janie's parents were Brits whose Sunday night dinner was roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. The meal dripped in fat and gravy...thick slices of butter in a bowl on the table...something sugary, drowned with whipped cream for dessert. Eating there felt nearly illicit. Once I got to college and had a meal plan for breakfast and dinner, I was truly liberated: fried eggs, bacon and rye toast smeared with butter and jam was my morning staple, a greasy cheeseburger at night with French fries - and pie a la mode. Forget LSD - no interest. I was all about HFD (high fat diet). Sweet rebellion. My mother and I had our treats when my father was either sleeping or out of town. Two of the favorites were bananas and sour cream liberally sprinkled with sugar, and cucumber and tomato sandwiches on white bread with a thick layer of mayonnaise and salt. And then there were the occasional lunches we had at Chock Full O' Nuts - the cake-like date nut bread sandwich with cream cheese, pizza from the stand near the subway, and the Papaya King hot dog heaped with salty sauerkraut. Shared vices. I've always cooked, but lately I am cooking only for my husband and myself - and experimenting. The other night I made scallops with bacon, leeks and butter in a curry sauce. It once would have been deemed a culinary sin. When our children lived at home, I cooked much like my mother - nutritious, basic comfort foods, and like her (despite my wild food days during college), I separated yolks from whites when I baked, substituted margarine for butter, used corn oil. Over the years, I struck a balance - slipping in a yolk now and then, reading that butter and olive oil were, in fact, healthier. Even my mother, as she got older and perhaps bolder - either defying or ignoring my father, created a dish of pasta tossed with olive oil, stewed tomatoes, and shredded cheddar cheese topped with sprinkled Parmesan: a departure for her. It became a favorite dish for my kids when she made lunch at her country house on Sundays. Coined Mommy-Mommy Pasta (they called her Mommy Mommy, an off-shoot of Mommy's Mommy as opposed to Grandma which never pleased her), it remains part of her legacy - the kids' friends still recalling the dish by that name since I often made vats of that pasta when my kids showed up with their friends in tow, and everyone was hungry. All of our children cook. Our sons are more basic cooks, but capable - the younger son perhaps more inventive than the older one. Our daughter is an amazing cook - perhaps my muse when it comes to experimenting lately. I'd never used leeks before the other night, and had to call and ask her what to do with the thick-leafed vegetable. It dawned on me last night as Mark and I had dinner that family dinners, whether for five of us, or now the two of us, are heirlooms. Despite the fact that it is simply the two of us now for the last few weeks since our youngest took his own apartment, the dinner hour remains nearly sacred. I set the table as I would for "company" (something I always did - another legacy from my mother): cloth napkins in jeweled rings, crystal wine glasses, colorful plates, and place mats. The meal is not merely about food. It is, and always has been, a combination of ingredients that nourish far more than the body. It is sustenance for the heart and soul; conversation that catches us up on one another's days - sharing the good and the bad, the frustrating and rewarding...a letting- go of the negative...an embrace of the positive. And so it was last night, that I remembered my mother's pasta, and the late nights when she and I furtively ate bananas heaped with sour cream together in the dim light of the kitchen. I got misty eyed. "It's a trade-off," my husband explained, comforting me. "The pain of missing your mother so much is the price you pay for having so many sweet memories of her." Of course, the problem is that I want both: To make that phone call and say, "Hey, Ma, remember when we ate all that sour cream? And by the way, I cooked with butter last night." My younger son recently gave me a book called Science in the Kitchen and The Art of Eating Well. It was originally published in 1891. It is not merely a cookbook - it is a cultural and sociological journey (with recipes). The first few lines of the Preface read, "Cooking is a troublesome sprite. Often it may drive you to despair. Yet it is also very rewarding, for when you do succeed, or overcome a difficulty in doing so, you feel the satisfaction of a great triumph." It captures my culinary reflections as I look back on nights of sour cream sweetened with sugar--memories filled at once with passion and despair--a troublesome sprite indeed.
 

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