drugs news

Did George W. Bush use cocaine?

2010-03-22T22:54:00.000+02:00

I was working on a post about Tennessee’s gubernatorial candidates, and wanted to point out that candidate Zach Wamp was not unlike both the current and most recent former president in his history of cocaine use.

Of course everyone knows that President Obama admitted to cocaine use in one of his books. But I had been under the impression that it was common and accepted knowledge that Bush was a cokehead at some point as well. I was surprised to learn that apparently I was wrong.

The most authoritative thing that I could find when I searched “Bush cocaine” was this Wikipedia page (note the qualification of “most” before authoritative there), but it doesn’t even contain the word “cocaine.” The rest of my search led me to unsourced (or shadily sourced) no-name webpages which contained all sorts of the sorts of wild allegations that set off the bullshit alarms from a mile away and remind you that anyone can post anything on the internet.

I wasn’t as turned on to politics in 2000 as I am now, not by a long shot (the 2000 post-election debacle was probably my turning point in that kind of attention, with 9/11 sealing the deal that this was something worth watching), so my skeptism-meter wasn’t as high. I must have “heard” that at some point (from one of my college classmates? from some radio jock? who knows?)and just accepted it as fact, and, until today, still did.

Most people are a lot more like me in pre-election day 2000 than like me now. Kind of scary when you think about how they’re getting their information.

[Via http://lyssalovelyredhead.wordpress.com]

How reasurring is Aspirin?

2010-03-22T15:15:00.000+02:00

When we have a headache, tummy ache or toothache or any kind of ache, we tend to dig deep in our bag and pull out a aspirin. We take this quick-fix in the belief that it will cure us and relief the pain in no time.

However, new research has found that this painkiller may be more of a hindrance than a help. A study from Edinburgh University, of 3,350 people whose blood pressure tests indicated they had problems with arteries in their legs revealed that they had almost double the risk of internal bleeding, while there was no discernible impact on heart disease.

Yorkshire-based GP Dr Andrew Green, who works with the charity Sense About Science said:

“The science part is that we know aspirin reduces people’s risk of heart disease in those who have previously had a heart attack,” he says. “For those people, the potential side effect of internal bleeding is a risk worth taking. But everyone else should steer clear — the risks outweigh the benefits.”

Judy O’Sullivan, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation said, “Women are three times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than breast cancer. And it’s not just postmenopausal women either. If you are in your thirties or forties and you smoke and are overweight, your hormones won’t necessarily protect you. You could be at risk of a heart attack.”

But don’t be alarmed just yet, last month there were reports from Harvard University, indicating that aspirin could protect against breast cancer. So it is debateable as to what research we should listen to? If any at all?

Dr Green said:

“You have to look at the data,” says Green. “That study only found mild benefits. We need to be naturally suspicious of borderline evidence: the risks are too great.”

For more information on heart disease, please click here.

For more information on breast cancer, please click here.

[Via http://youngwellbeing.wordpress.com]

I like simple pleasures; like butter in my ass, lollipops in my mouth. That's just me, that's just something that I enjoy.

2010-03-19T15:28:00.000+02:00

[Via http://lurkdat.com]

Immunization Debates Generate More Heat Than Light - We Need Facts On Vaccinations

2010-03-19T07:58:00.000+02:00

Unless you have been on mars for most of the last twelve months you would have heard about the H1N1 virus also known as swine flu. In response to the perceived “killer” virus, governments around the world ordered mass dosages of a vaccine against the virus in a bid to save the populace from the terror of flu.

As things turned out there was no threat and many governments in the northern hemisphere have scaled back their orders considerably. In fact latest figures from the USA show that this flu season has been particularly mild with far less cases than usual. The Australian government was not able to cut back its order and hence has a lot of vaccine in storage. It is looking to get rid of this by another scare campaign about second waves (which is tricky when there was no first wave).

Through all this though there has not been any questioning of the basic assumption that giving people a flu vaccine protects them from flu and that in turn they and society benefit. Many countries have annual flu vaccination programs for those over 65. Some of these have been going for many years.

It is interesting then to note that it emerged recently that there is not actually any evidence to show that this does any good! The well-respected Cochrane collaboration released a report, which looked at 75 studies over a 40-year period. The conclusion was that “The available evidence is of poor quality and provides no guidance regarding the safety, efficacy or effectiveness of influenza vaccines in people aged 65 years or older”.

In simple terms after 40 years we do not know if giving people over 65 a flu vaccine does any good or any harm. Now to be fair there is nothing at all to suggest that there is any harm done even though the safety of its use has not been proved. Also it could be that nobody was able to find the evidence of benefit even though it may be there.

However after 40 years and 75 studies on a commonplace medical procedure you would expect evidence of benefit to be apparent. The assumption that because it involves vaccination it must be good is not a scientific position but one of faith. Interestingly it is exactly the type of criticism that is leveled at those opposed to vaccines by health authorities and doctors. Unfortunately “debates” over vaccination generate heat and no light as positions are entrenched and facts are of little interest.

Some drugs are more useful than others. Those, which are shown to be not useful, go out of use. Medical procedures too, become superseded. There is no reason the same logic should not apply to vaccination. Those, which are shown to be useful, should be continued. Those where there is not shown to be benefit should not.

Last year serious questions were raised over the papiloma virus vaccine (marketed as the Cervical Cancer vaccine) as how long the effect lasts in the body is unclear. The program of giving it to 13 year old girls means it may have worn off by the time they need protection. Also there is the lingering question about whether the body will in most cases clear the virus anyway.

An Australian report showed that after the introduction of the Chicken Pox vaccine there was an increase in the rate of hospitalization of the elderly with Shingles, which is caused by the same virus. This led a call for another vaccine program. Whilst there was a reduction in cases of chicken pox, in children this is hardly a massive achievement as it is essentially a minor childhood illness (yes there can be complications but this is rare).

The bottom line is that this matters. Governments spend large sums of money on vaccine programs. There is in many instances some compulsion about being vaccinated and penalties for not doing so. This does not occur with any other area of medicine. Assessments made on the basis of facts, not pre conceived notions, faith in vaccines, or opposition to vaccines, is what is needed. Those, which are shown to have benefits outweighing risks, are worth doing. Those where this is not the case, are not worth continuing.

Vaccination is a medical and public health issue. It is not a sacred cow. Programs need to be assessed, criticized and changed or stopped if not found to be of benefit. Justification on the basis that vaccination, of itself, is good is no better an argument than vaccination, of itself, is bad.

[Via http://drjoesdiyhealth.wordpress.com]

Bananas Cure HIV AIDS!! I'm not kidding!

2010-03-17T15:28:00.000+02:00

Its me again back with good information for my Fellow riders. Tha Fastlife Runna cares about your health. What I’ve learned about this fruit, it actually kills HIV diseases. I know we got some people that is sick out there with HIV and depend on anti drugs that battle HIV. Some of you are nasty and don’t know if you got it. I don’t want you to pass it to me and mess my life up. That’s the reason why I’m writing this post. Anyways, when that happens in your body, why not eat banana like a monkey everyday? A monkey eats more banana more than an average person eats meal 4 times a day and then next thing monkey jumping like a fool all day. Do you know why? Let me tell you why. Its the natural chemicals from a banana that speeds up the metabolism which make you hyper and also boost up the immune system that battle diseases inside your body. I’m going start eating fruits like a mad man because I know its the T. R. U. T. H. If you think i’m not serious, do some research pal. It’s sad to know that people depend too much on man made drugs with side effects instead of what Heavenly father gave you to eat to live healthier life. Banana ain’t got no side effects. When you take those man made drugs, next thing you gonna find out you have HIV-2. That’s a scary, ain’t it? Not me. I’m going eat bananas as my life depends on it because I’m stuck with a gay roommate living next door to me. I don’t know what the hell he’s doing with weird looking dudes every night. I don’t talk to him and I can’t wait to move out of my place when I graduate in May. Sometimes I wish he stop waving at me every once in a while when he see me walking to class. If I find this nigga wheezing and coughing, you better believe I’ll take off running. Thats the kind of person I am. I’m cautious when I come to those things like that.

[Via http://pinkneyalvinjr.wordpress.com]

Addictions [continued]

2010-03-17T04:56:00.000+02:00

Around 165 million Americans are addicted to caffeine.

I forgot to mention caffeine addiction statistics in my last post. Caffeine is a more easily forgotten “drug.” (Yes, it really is a drug.) Well, I am one of those 165 million.

Yesterday, it occurred to me:

Matthew 7:3-5 ”Why do you notice the little piece of dust in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your friend, ‘Let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye’?? Look at yourself! You still have that big piece of wood in your own eye. 5 You hypocrite! First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your friend’s eye.

I remembered this verse while thinking of a couple people whom I know that have addictions. While I was thinking of them, I held a big cup of coffee in my hand.

Here’s some things I have learned through various sources such as other people, personal experience, my academic education, research, etc… It’s rrreeeeal easy to overlook caffeine addiction. It’s even easy to joke about. I mean heck, I joke about it myself. [Have yall seen that McDonald's commercial where the guy doesn't respond with more than "I haven't had my coffee yet" until he gets his morning coffee? Yeah, that's freakishly close to the truth with me.]

Now think about an alcoholic… He/she usually receives a stamp of disapproval from society. It’s not too funny to joke about. It’s serious. Same with the smoker, the drug addict, etc. Hmm… Have you really done your research and become well-informed/educated on the effects that these substances have on the body? Most

[Via http://emilyscurls.wordpress.com]

Zephyr 5.4 "The Stuff Of News Footage"

2010-03-12T15:33:00.000+02:00

“AH, ZEPHYR, MY dearest son,” the Pope says as he struggles to rise and ultimately fails, slumping back into the plush chair with the air of a rich man who has just let loose with a particularly satisfying fart: one made perhaps all the more satisfying for the flunkies who have to stand there, drinking in the air and commenting on its magnificence.

            Let me be clear the Pope and I have never met. He’s new and I’m so lapsed I don’t think I even count as Catholic any more. Where he gets off speaking so pleasantly I can’t tell you. I can see Pykes, Dufresne and the Senator are all thrilled to the point of Rapture to be in the flatulent old German’s presence. I make a pained face and keep walking and when the Pope offers me his hand with the big ring on it I play stupid and pump his arm a few times and then sit down at the nearest chair.

            “It’s a pleasure,” I baldly lie. “Now what’s this all about?”

            My frankness breaks the mood like even the Pope’s weak arse couldn’t. Pykes and Kirkness exchange glances and Senator Keenan emits a girlish chuckle and sits close enough to me she can reach out and periodically stroke my knee, which she proceeds to do with alarming regularity. She is a handsome and well-preserved woman, but up close and looking through the layers of her nearly Baroque make-up, it wouldn’t surprise me if at any moment she suddenly bared yellow fangs and her bloodshot eyes rolled up into her head as she gave in to her desire for human flesh.

            “Please excuse Zephyr’s candidness, Your Holiness,” the mayor says with a nervous little frown I’ve rarely seen him wear. “I can only explain that he understands the value of your time and doesn’t want to beat around the bush, as we say here in the States.”

            His Holiness waves his hand and looks beneficent as they taught him to in Pope school. I smile, he smiles, the row of unspeaking cardinals smile and Ivory Keenan titters just a little more. Again with the knee.

            “It’s regarding the Bloomingdale bombing, Zephyr,” the Senator says. “Paramilitary Zionists called Israel’s Black Commandos have claimed responsibility for the attack. It took twenty-five lives and left a further fifteen people who are still in hospital.”

            My memories are the stuff of news footage. I nod and look around the room. A few bland suits have slipped in and one of them, she has the whole black hair/green eyes/big titties thing happening, oh boy, and she begins taking notes with an electronic stylus. I try to catch her eye, but I guess Catholicism comes with the Irish gene and proximity to the Holy Father has put a dent in her receptivity.

            “Okay,” I say and resist the shrug.

            “The City States Symposium has deliberated,” the Pope says in his heavy-lidded German English. “We have decided we cannot take any position except to condemn all violence that encourages segregation.”

            I nod and glance around the room. Pykes looks like a kid too afraid to put his hand up to go to the toilet and might just risk pissing himself before the afternoon ends. Ironically it is his deputy Dufresne who has the poise to pull off the high-powered meeting.

            The Pope stares at me until he has my eye. “We will not make any formal statement. However, the government assures me it will endorse a statement of sorts in retaliation for this attack on its sovereign soil.”

            I blink, nod again. “Okay.”

            It looks like no-one else really wants to speak, suddenly. Dufresne scowls, looking around the room. Finally she rests forward, arms crossed over her knee.

            “Zephyr, we want you to go after them.”

I TRY TO think this through for a minute and basically fail.

            “You want me to go after the terrorists?”

            “Absolutely,” Pykes says.

            “On behalf of, and sanctioned by, the United States government,” Senator Keenan says with a bold, affirmative nod.

            I glance around the table and eye the cardinals briefly. “Um, where are they, then?”

            My question elicits more glass-eyed stares. Dufresne looks at Pykes who looks at Keenan who in turn stares at Kirkness. No-one dares look at His Holiness.

            “We understand the security forces in Jerusalem have contained some members of a local cell,” Keenan says.

            “Sure, but that’s on neutral soil,” I remark. “That would kind of undermine the whole idea of the neutrality of the City States, wouldn’t it, to send me in there?”

            Someone clears their throat. It’s not anyone helpful. I ask, “Um, do you mind if I ask why you want me to do this? Surely the government. . . ?”

            “The President feels it would be best not to formally link our response to the government,” the Senator says. “However, a well-known American parahuman, taking the matter into his own hands with the tacit approval of the current administration. . . .”

            “Sorry,” I say and risk cutting her off, though Keenan looks far too pleased to be stopped talking for me to call it that. “I’m not sure exactly what you’re after. This attack was launched from within Atlantic City, obviously. Can you give me any information regarding these Commando dudes and any contacts or networks or . . . anything?”

            I drift off because of the uncomfortable looks around me.

            I hesitantly add: “I’m not sure what you think it is I am able to do about, um, all this. I’m, like . . . I’m a superhero, you know?”

            “Terrorism is a crime, Zephyr,” Ms Keenan rebukes me.

            “A crime? Yes. A specialist crime,” I say back to her. “This is like . . . like getting hand models to take on the Triads or something.”

            “Finally, something sensible. . . .” Kirkness mutters.

            “Zephyr, I think you’re doing yourself a disservice,” Senator Keenan says.

            “You must have faith, my son,” the Pope adds.

            “I’m sorry,” I say and stand with genuine remorse. “If you know where the bad guys’ lair is in Atlantic City, you let me and the Sentinels know and we’ll kick their tails. International terrorism and diplomacy though, that’s just not my bag. Sorry.”

            Only slightly less incredulous than they that I’m actually doing so, I open my palms apologetically and walk from the room. The security cadre eyes me as I jostle past. Their eyes are too busy for anything resembling sympathy.

[Via http://wereviking.wordpress.com]

Maybe A New School?

2010-03-12T07:36:00.000+02:00

Looking At A New School….. With all that the two Older Woody boys have been telling me lately about there so-called “Catholic” private high school we are now in the process of looking for a new school. I was so very upset the other day when one boy let me know how the year 11 boys and girls visit the toilets at lunch time for a bit more than using the facilities the way they are meant to be used. Then how the year 10, year 11, and year 12 smoke more than cigarettes before/during/after school – before reaching the school grounds, and then on the school grounds. So NOT happy. We are paying good money for the boys to receive a great education, to be told what really goes on behind the scenes. The icing on the cake was when I received a letter sent home (to our old address, luckily for the school I have our mail redirected) for our oldest boy Hayden – to say that he had breached the uniform four times. I was not informed once, nor on the second occasion, nor on the third. It actually took four times before they contacted me. Hayden could not explain why the uniform breech notice was sent, so I contacted the school. It was for not having his “Formal” hat with him on four different times. He had his sports hat instead!!! Yet the school lets them get away with a lot more. They all have computers at the school – they have gone one on one. Each and every student is not using the computer within the guidelines. NOTHING has been done about that situation. DOUBLE STANDARD. So we are looking at a new school. One that is closer to start with, and one that is smaller…..a closer knit community so that the kids take pride in them selves and achieve more out of school. All I want for my two older Woody boys is to achieve the best that they can and with their school at the moment I don’t feel like they are reaching for the stars…. What are your thoughts? Maybe A New School? Cheers Lisa Wood.

[Via http://woodyboys.wordpress.com]

Brooklyn's Finest

2010-03-10T23:47:00.000+02:00

Went to see Brooklyn’s Finest today and it was pretty good overall. The movie relied heavily on stereotypes though, which made it feel unoriginal. The movie was entertaining though because of the interlacing storytelling and a small level of suspense.

There are three stories within the film, all about Brooklyn police officers. Eddie (Richard Gere) is a week away from retirement. He’s separated from his wife and really depressed. As a cop, Eddie is a underachiever. If he’s not on duty or in his precinct he basically doesn’t care a bit about the illegal things he sees going on around him. It’s after the character gets turned down by a prostitute and abandoned by coworkers that he realizes being a dick isn’t the best route in life (I should take note). Despite his pitfalls Eddie was my favorite character, probably because his outlook on life was similar to mine. Next, Tango (Don Cheadle) is an undercover cop knee-deep in drug deals and drive-bys. He strives to get a promotion and change his lifestyle and that’s about the extent of his character. Lastly, Sal (Ethan Hawke) is struggling to gather funds to move his family into a new house. His wife played by Lily Taylor is expecting twins, on top of the what seems like 20 kids they already have. To help get money, he steals drug money from drug raids. His character’s motives were noble and it was easy to empathize with him. The ending I won’t even mention because well, that would be mean.

There was definitely a lot going on in this film plot wise. So many different themes (family, loneliness, drug use, justice, etc.) were touched on in this film. Also, as you can tell already there were a lot of big name stars in this film. Gere delivered as always. Same goes for Hawke and Cheadle. They were all great at showing their character’s flaws while also making the viewer connect and feel sorry for them. Wesley Snipes, Brian F. O’Byrne and Ellen Barkin had supporting roles. The film was directed by Antoine Fuqua, who has directed the likes of Training Day, Shooter and King Arthur. So he has a lot of experience with the grim, crime-type movies.

[Via http://hannahpoturalski.wordpress.com]

'Lost Boys' actor Corey Haim dead in Burbank at 38

2010-03-10T15:45:00.000+02:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100310/ap_on_en_mo/us_obit_haim:

LOS ANGELES – Corey Haim, a 1980s teen heartthrob for his roles in “Lucas” and “The Lost Boys” whose career was blighted by drug abuse, has died. He was 38.

Haim died at 2:15 a.m. Wednesday at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Los Angeles County coroner’s Lt. Cheryl MacWillie said.

An autopsy will determine the cause of death and there were no other details, she said. Police Sgt. Michael Kammert said there’s no evidence of foul play.

Haim had flulike symptoms before he died and was getting over-the-counter and prescription medications, Police Sgt. William Mann said. The cause of death is unknown, Mann said.

“He could have succumbed to whatever (illness) he had or it could have been drugs. Who knows?” Mann said. “He has had a drug problem in the past.”

Haim was taken by ambulance to the hospital from an apartment in Los Angeles near Burbank. The enormous complex is known asOakwood and is popular with young actors, Kammert said.

Haim acknowledged his struggle with drug abuse to The Sun in 2004.

“I was working on Lost Boys when I smoked my first joint,” he told the British tabloid.

“I did cocaine for about a year and a half, then it led to crack,” he said.

Haim said he went into rehabilitation and was put on prescription drugs. He took both stimulants and sedatives such as Valium.

“I started on the downers which were a hell of a lot better than the uppers because I was a nervous wreck,” he said. “But one led to two, two led to four, four led to eight, until at the end it was about 85 a day.”

In 2007, he told ABC’s “Nightline” that drugs hurt his career.

“I feel like with myself I ruined myself to the point where I wasn’t functional enough to work for anybody, even myself. I wasn’t working,” he said.

The Toronto-born actor got his start in television commercials at 10 and earned a good reputation for his work in such films as 1985’s “Murphy’s Romance” and his portrayal of Liza Minelli’s dying son in the 1985 television film “A Time to Live.”

His career peaked and he became a teen heartthrob with his roles in the 1986 movie “Lucas,” and “The Lost Boys,” in which he battled vampires.

In later years, he made a few TV appearances and had several direct-to-video movies. He also had a handful of recent movies that have not yet been released.

But in 1997 he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing debts for medical expenses and more than $200,000 in state and federal taxes.

His assets included a few thousand dollars in cash, clothing and royalty rights.

In recent years, he appeared in the A&E reality TV show “The Two Coreys” with his friend Corey Feldman. It was canceled in 2008 after two seasons. Feldman later said Haim’s drug abuse strained their working and personal relationships.

In a 2007 interview on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” Haim called himself “a chronic relapser for the rest of my life.”

[Via http://nealbinnyc.wordpress.com]

Some People Never Learn

2010-03-08T23:27:00.000+02:00

Oh dear, it just wasn’t Sir James Smith’s day. Mr Smith was on his way home after spending 4 months behind bars for marijuana offenses when he and his wife were pulled over for a license plate infraction. Unfortunately the two had also been puffing away on some weed. Hmm, there is another marijuana charge right there. Oh and their 11 month old daughter was also in the car at the time so bonus, he gets a “neglect of a dependent” too.

[Via http://frigginloon.wordpress.com]

The Cure or the Disease...

2010-03-05T23:55:00.000+02:00

The Cure or the Disease

While listening to music today, I was struck by lyrics stating, “I sometimes wonder if I am a part of the cure or if I am a part of the disease in today’s World…” Coldplay melodiously humming in my ears and my head bobbing to the alternative beat. As I looked out of the window into Nature I pondered all of the ills that plague our society today, from hatred, to greed, to the crimes that we witness take place daily. The mistreatment of other human beings and the disrespect shown for others, as if some of us are the only individuals inhabiting the planet. The abuse of drugs and alcohol. The making money and material things more important than people. The tainting of the amazing things that GOD created for our good. With all of these things continuously going on I wondered what category I fell into…

What category do YOU fall into?

[Via http://patrickmiguelbishop.wordpress.com]

Help for Drugs Addiction

2010-03-05T07:48:00.000+02:00

Drug Rehab tends to get to the root the twofold nature of addiction to drugs.

They are: physical and psychological addiction. Physical addiction involves a detox process to cope with withdrawal from unrelenting Rehabilitation clinics located in the United Kingdom are treatment clinics that supply a secure environment and offer support, counselling and education in assisting drug addicts and alcoholics to get over their addiction.

Rehabilitation centres in the United Kingdom try medical, mental treatments and counselling services. Many addicts of drugs and alcohol, require hospital treatment to beat their disease.

For more info about drug addiction have a look at www.drugsaddictionadvice.com.

[Via http://lucaspawpaw.wordpress.com]

Puke!

2010-03-03T15:07:00.000+02:00

My most recent ex-boyfriend is a formerly homeless, recovering meth addict who is in AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). We “met” through a Craig’s List ad I posted on Christmas Day 2006. His e-mail wasn’t witty nor did I find him particularly attractive (in his pictures) but I agreed to meet him in person because he had also responded to another Craig’s List ad I had previously posted. During our date, he dropped 2 bombs on me. One, he was 35 years old. (I was 23 years old at the time.) And two, he was homeless for 2 years. My response was: “So, what was that like for you?” I gave a very Social Work-ity answer. The belief that all people are fundamentally good guides the work I do. I shouldn’t apply the principles of the NASW’s (National Association of Social Workers) Code of Ethics to dating, though. I want a boyfriend to share my life with, not another client on my caseload.

This emotional vomiting/over self-disclosure phenomena occurs a lot when I disclose to men what I do for a living. A couple of weeks ago, when I was at a BDSM masquerade co-op party at a warehouse in Oakland, I was cross-faded (read: high and drunk) but, when I told some guy that I’ve worked with meth addicts, he said: “Well, when I was addicted to meth. . . “ Due to my foggy mental state, I listened to his story because, at the time, I was too disoriented to walk away.

While I am not religious nor would I consider myself very spiritual, I believe that life is not a string of haphazard events. As cliche as it sounds, I do believe that everything does happens for a reason. I suppose I project warmth, open-mindedness, and compassion into the universe. People pick up on that, I think. And, as a result, those in most need of love and unconditional positive regard gravitate toward me.

[Via http://jenverzosa.com]

Kyle's HIV Campaign

2010-03-03T07:38:00.000+02:00

HIV: Spread the truth, Not the disease.

Despite the fact that Kyle Huber is not HIV positive, he has taken it upon himself to do his part in spreading the word about HIV/AIDS through his photography. The photographs of young gay men that have been affected with/by HIV are used very creatively as urinal ads directed right at the people that need the message the most. We have all been out to the bar and had a little to much to drink, then ended up going home with someone you maybe didn’t know that well. Hopefully these ads will catch your attention just in time and remind you that the only good sex is safe sex!

Check out more information and photos on this great campaign HERE!!!

“Despite knowing the information about HIV, too many young gay men feel invincible and invulnerable to the serious threat of being infected. So, in order to infect my audience with reality and the fear of HIV, I designed a powerful visual campaign consisting of graphic and personal imagery that creates a permanent emotional response. I strategically implemented “urinal posters,” typographic projections, car fliers and online ads to reach the young gay community at the most critical times. With support from local gay bars, nightclubs and events, my overall message is delivered as a system of unexpected reminders to practice safe sex.”- Kyle Huber

For more information on this great cause check out the HIV Awareness blog!

Don’t forget to JOIN the FACEBOOK GROUP and show your support of this great cause!!!

This is Kyle!!

[Via http://dustintye85.wordpress.com]

GDTLD - a Berton Breton classic!

2010-03-01T23:32:00.000+02:00

Don’t trust the witch doctors

they’ve got something to sell

they diagnose a customer

then cure you into hell

afraid to leave the house without your safety suit and tie

demand the younger man to wear one once before you die

walk with purpose and determination (and) don’t waste my precious time

the legal drugs will help you when you have to wait in line

I always have more than I need

’cause the more that I work and the more I succeed

the more that I drink and smoke the weed

then in the paper I read:

GD the legal drugs

and GD those illegal drugs

GD the legal drugs!

Dr. Bartendealer

Dealer, Deal Thyself

if you’re not an honest healer

then leave it on the shelf

the war on drugs makes more and more on drugs

while the drunkards kneel on DT rugs

and the smokers kiss their butts

I never have to worry if my cup is half empty or half full

’cause it’s always overflowing and I’m drinking like a fool

you’d like to profit from my vice but the poison served it’s purpose

when it killed me once or twice

now nothing gets me high

GD the legal drugs

and GD those illegal drugs

GD the legal drugs!

GD the legal drugs

and God please damn illegal drugs

GD the legal drugs!

[Via http://hideawayfolkfamily.wordpress.com]

Movie Review: Almost Famous

2010-03-01T15:36:00.000+02:00

“I AM A GOLDEN GOD!”

“Hey—let’s deflower the kid.”

“Take a vacation from yourself—leave this to the professionals.”

This was one that I did a great disservice to in missing back in 2000. You can’t really blame me, though. It was middle school. You really think this sort of movie was on my radar?

So let me now make up for it by saying that I unequivocally love this movie. This Cameron Crowe flick is a tale of life in a decade gone by, growth and coming of age, and most importantly, music, and how that music related to the rest. It is a story of character above all else, and all of them are superbly rendered to such a degree that the movie itself breathes. It exudes life in every note, and you absolutely feel it. This movie is not a musical, but it is musical, in every vein. This is the story of a band on the road to fame and the personalities that accompany it along its journey—and the journey is magical.

It catches you in the waves of music and carries you to every bank of that rushing, twisting stream. Oh, and if you didn’t catch it from the language, there’s drugs. Lots of drugs. Seriously, though—the soundtrack alone is sheer perfection. I normally take until the end to give you my feelings on the soundtrack—but in this case, it is as key a piece of the movie as anything else, and it shines in a barrage of powerful classics.

This movie is equal parts hilarious and endearing—charmingly moving, and a delightfully offbeat brand of comic. It is witty without trying, the characters sexy for their definitively human quality. The chemistry between characters is undeniable. Everyone connects and builds off one another, and there are no weak links. The majestic, tragic, but breathtakingly sultry Peggy Lane (Kate Hudson, in an Oscar-nominated role), is especially entrancing. And the catalyst for our story, the young reporter, William Miller (Patrick Fugit), is marvelous. We sympathize with him, with all of them, with every maddening twist and turn that defines and consumes their lives. We grow with Fugit. His life is ours—the outsider looking in, drawn ever-deeper into the world of his dreams. As he is exposed and he changes, so do we.

And also, a shout-out to Philip Seymour Hoffman. Ever a great among the acting world, even in a respectfully minor role as Miller‘s traditional blunt but insightful mentor, he shines. A few lines spill volumes of personality.

For a fun game, you might also watch it and try to pick out all the younger versions of some of your modern favorites. Zooey Deschanel, Jason Lee, and Jimmy Fallon all make the list.

This movie is also a captivating look into a decade long past—that magical world of the 70s, which so many of our more hippyish friends spend dreaming about. It takes the 70s and it captures them—flawlessly. Would it be cliché to describe this movie as a spectacular acid trip for the soul? It is crazed but beautiful, capsulated in a drugged haze that is both alluring and endearing for all its wacky turns.

Perhaps this film doesn’t capture all the negative aspects of the decade in as critical a light as it could, but at its heart, this movie remains a captivating look at what was and it makes us feel good while it does it. You will want to watch this again and your favorite scenes will stick with you. Even in its dark moments, it touches us—in a way that few movies can.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars!

[Via http://indoorreviews.wordpress.com]

Needing to Breathe

2010-02-26T15:44:00.000+02:00

When things seem to bundle up and crunch all at once, like work and personal life issues, there is a tendency to just keep going and going. It is like feeding a locomotive that has gone off it’s tracks and we just keep making it go faster. One day it is going to hit something on its path and just crash in one big explosive way.

Some of us use alcohol, drugs and even sex to fuel this kind of mad coping mechanism. However, none of these things really help and we end up still wanting in the end with our “locomotive” out of steam or worse, damaged.

I have been hearing a lot lately about being authentic. This has been really meaningful to me. However, in the process to find true authenticity, there is a physical preparation to get there. One of the exercises is to simply breathe.

Many of us don’t breathe well. We don’t take time to take breaths that fill our bodies and let the oxygen flow through it. When we relax and for a few minutes do these deep breathing exercises with our eyes closed, it is amazing how calming and how connecting one can get with oneself.

I have begun to this more and it helps. Life is so chaotic and getting in touch with who we really are inside so that we can also live that way outside helps us to shape our lives authentically. That leads to happiness.

Take time to Breathe…really Breathe.

[Via http://tasithoughts.wordpress.com]

Intimacy With Christ- The Down-Cast & Depressed

2010-02-26T07:37:00.000+02:00

Today a tragic story in the News Paper and not isolated– and Jesus knows and cares!

I met with a Pastor not long ago and the topic got onto how there are people he encourages who feel despair, depressed, hopeless, without any happiness at all. It got me thinking about “Intimacy With Christ” restoring hope, transforming the depressed, giving joy to those who are in mourning sitting in ash heaps.

I’ve heard it said more than once or twice that Alberta has leading concerns in the area of domestic violence and depression. One web site- at just a simple quick search- came up with this:

http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?id=7040

The site basically supports the idea mentioned above. Also, other practitioners have said that 1/5 persons will at some point experience depression some time in their life. I have spoken with and to more than one or two persons who struggled with depression. I also had coffees with counselors and pastors who spoke to me about such cases. So, today– February 24th, 2010 there’s a good chance that such persons exist.

I once heard a long time ago that anxiety, depression, and guilt are primary causes for hospital beds being filled every minute in North America. I looked for a site that would substantiate this so I could cite it– but, didn’t find it- yet. Yet– we know– the state of the mind does influence the over-all delicate and minute or microscopic functions of the body.

So, what does “Intimacy With Christ” have to do with Depression, Domestic Violence, and Suicide?

Psalmist 147:3

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

Isaiah— speaking prophetically what God was going to do by His Chosen One- The Messiah:

Isaiah 61:1

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

The Lord Jesus Reading and Thus Pointing to Himself:

Luke 4:18, 21

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,.. And he began to say unto them; This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

The Greek Word “thrauo” translated “brokenhearted” / “downtrodden” – literally means to break into pieces–or to shatter into small pieces.

Matthew 12:20

He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally he will cause justice to be victorious.

2 Corinthians 7:6

But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us

Now, let me say this first— there are some so far down the ladder that their psyche/state of mind has basically taken their body and chemical balance to the bottom. So– have you considered that perhaps God is leading you to get to a Dr. for help so that you can get your body/chemical balances in a much, much better place? Then, after that- maybe then it’s time to seek out a professional who is licensed to speak with as well as someone who is known to be “Intimate With Christ”?

All truth is God’s truth. He made us. He knows us. He is intimate already with every man woman and child on planet earth in that He knows when we rise and when we retire. He knows what we’ve been through and what we will go through. Science– under God’s caring provision can be a good thing. Yes– we call Jesus- The Great Physician– however, combined with that- He’s Sovereign Lord, too– and so– may be leading you to seek help outside of the darkness and despair you suffer.

(Some books written by professionals on such topics)

What kind of God is this God that He comforts? He’s loving! What kind of God is this that He actually cares one inch about you, your family, or friends– He’s Compassionate! What kind of God is this that He in one day “took away” all the spottiness of wrong doing to those who trust in Christ on that cursed tree– He’s forgiving! (God has not given us a spirit of fear/timidity before His Face- but, rather power to change, love to feel loved and love, and a sound mind- one that’s on track with True truth.)

Friend: Jesus Christ is a friend to the downcast! I’ve heard story upon story upon story upon story of Him healing families- ending domestic violence- and lifting up those who are in misery to have the feet of mountain goats or the wings of an eagle to once again dwell in the “high places.” No– he’s not a “Morphine Jesus” to keep you high all the time– but, He can recover, renew, and restore.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

Job 3:1, 12

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth…. Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed? (Job knew what it was to be down-cast. And just read the last verses of Job and see how good God is– God is Good! )

Friend– Jesus knows and cares and understands you better than you know yourself. He made Dr.’s, Psychiatrists, Psychologists……. He gets your point. If you read the above verses you’ll see— The Bible Never Tries To Minimize A Situation Or Someone’s Pain.

The “Father-Mother God” (Jan. 19- My Utmost For His Highest- Oswald Chambers): The Bible teaches us that God is a Father to the fatherless. Someone can be fatherless in two ways– either you just didn’t have a dad at home or you have a dad or mom but they are emotionally not there for you at all. God both reveals in the Bible Himself as a father– a good father and as like a mother hen wanting to gather her chicks to herself for protection and nourishment.

Matthew 23:37

How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

Jesus is All-Knowing: He knows when you stand up and he knows when you sit down. He knows you inside out and that counts for something when we speak of “Intimacy With Christ” as He calls everyone to come and take his yoke upon them and learn of him– He calls all who are weary and heavy-laden. Is that You?

Colossians 1:16

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

Psalm 139:1-13

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

You know– Jesus Christ calls and transforms people on basically the primary 3 levels of counseling out there? Yes He does!

Cognitively Jesus wants to transform your mind. He says, “I am the truth.” He says that His Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and He- God- Jesus- desires truth in your innermost being. The Holy Spirit- being the back-drop of authoring the Bible filled it with thousands of important truths. Many people are tormented because they believe a lie about something and so try to either carry the world on their shoulders, or seek to lift it up as though they should, and realize how heavy the burden all the time feeling that they should lift it, but- realize/fear they cannot.

Emotively Jesus wants you to experience Joy and a whole other range of positive emotions/healthy ones. He wants you to experience His peace. He wants you to experience His love. He wants to transform you emotionally from the inside out.

Behaviorally Jesus is instructs and calls one into behavior that is both productive/helpful and that which will be rewarded in the future. He wants our behavior to conform to loving our God with everything, loving our neighbors/ourselves, and loving our enemies. He’s concerned about behavior- and so tells the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more.

Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor as we are told in Isaiah– He counsels His people by exhortation in that He tells us what to do and not to do in the Bible and reminds/enables us by His Spirit to be productive citizens of Heaven first and earth. He counsels by encouragement- speaking to our fears the truth to us in love. He counsels by insight– He listens beneath our words to what we are really saying. He hears us and listens. He can read between the lines and send the resources we need to be over-comers.

When we are told to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”- we’re not believing on a dead man whose bones are buried 2000 some years ago. When we put our trust in Him- as many as received Him to them God the Father gave them the power to become the sons and daughters of God. We enter a family. Our whole nature is transformed into something of the likeness of Jesus’ nature. We enter the potential for loving, encouraging, and insightful relationships.

One song says:

Put on the garments of praise, for the spirit of heaviness;

Let the oil of gladness flow down from your throne!

Put on the garments of praise, for the spirit of heaviness;

Your joy is my strength alone, my strength alone!

Make these broken weary bones rise to dance again,

Wet this dry and thirsty land with a river!

Lord our eyes are fixed on you and we are waiting,

For your garland of grace as we praise your name.

Another says:

As the deer pants for the water, So my soul longs after You. You alone are my heart’s desire And I long to worship You. You alone are my strength, my shield, To You alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart’s desire And I long to worship You. I want You more than gold or silver, Only You can satisfy. You alone are the real joy-giver And the apple of my eye. You’re my Friend and You are my Brother, Even though You are a King. I love You more than any other, So much more than anything. Or: Calvary’s love will sail forever

Bright and shining, strong and free

Like an ark of peace and safety

On the sea of human need

Through the hours of all the ages

Those tired of sailing on their own

Finally rest inside the shadow

Cast by Calvary’s love across their soulsChorus:

Calvary’s love, Calvary’s love

Priceless gift Christ makes us worthy of

The deepest sin can’t rise above

Calvary’s love

Calvary’s love can heal the Spirit

Life has crushed and cast aside

And redeem til Heaven’s promise

Fills with joy once empty eyes

Father God– I pray for every Albertan, every home, every down-cast person who cannot see hope, light, or purpose. Lord Jesus- You Cried out- “Come to Me All Who Are Weary and Heavey Laden.” I pray that they would come– that they would feel the pull and tug of Your Loving Spirit. My God– there have been people held in chains for years and need Your rescue. Father, I pray that they would be rescued. I pray Jesus Christ that by Your Power which can lift the Red Sea, unshrivel the lame legs, unblind the blind eyes, un-harden the hardest of hearts— I pray Lord– Have Mercy Oh Son of God- Son of David– Have Mercy on these. Lord, many ask– why is Alberta such n such or repored as having high stats and explain it by the fact we work all the time. I pray that Albertans would once again see that worship of the “Almighty Dollar” is not Your path and brings no real and enduring happiness or peace. I pray Father that You’d break the chains that have held people in their grip forever and a day. God, lift the spirit of the down-cast, lift up the weak, strengthen the knees that falter, heal the sick, deliver those full of anger from anger. Deliver those full of guilt from guilt. Deliver those full of hatred from hatred. Deliver those full of anguish from anguish of soul. You have Father at the Cross– but, in some sense they need deliverance to get them there– to the Cross– to Calvary’s love. Oh Lord, I pray– Father grant them the joy You have given to me. Grant them the Peace You have given to me. Grant them a deep sense of worth and forgiveness that You have given to me. Grant them songs during the day and night– encouraging songs– which You grant to me every day. Father, I pray for Albertans and all who are down-cast and are in a cycle of despair– Help. In Jesus Name– AMEN.

[Via http://kamvanhereweghe.wordpress.com]

SWEET! HOT LINGERIE MODEL BELIEVED TO BE DRUG KINGPIN

2010-02-24T23:05:00.000+02:00

ANGIE SANSELMENTE VALENCIA

Angie Sanselmente Valencia is a beautiful, young lingerie model. Authorities say she is also one of the biggest drug dealers in the world.

Several British tabloids including the Daily Telegraph, The Sun, and the Daily Mail have details about Valencia’s drug running activities and how she recruited an all-girl cocaine-smuggling crew. According to The Sun, she dated one of the world’s most violent drug dealers nicknamed “The Monster” and authorities almost caught up with her by tracing her registered Pomeranian lap dog.

LINGERIE MODEL’S POMERANIAN

[Via http://graneyandthepig.wordpress.com]

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYERS TO BE TESTED FOR HGH

2010-02-24T15:55:00.000+02:00

Major League Baseball is beginning a program to start testing its minor league players for Human Growth Hormone. MLB already tests both major and minor league players for steroids and other Performance Enhancing Drugs. However, until very recently there was not an effective test to detect HGH.

On Monday, a British rugby player became the first athlete ever suspended for using HGH. Until now, the MLB players union has balked at potential HGH testing because it involved a blood rather than a urine test. Minor leaguers are not union members and commissioner Bud Selig can implement testing on those players without their collectively bargained approval. ESPN blogger/columnist Buster Olney came out in favor of HGH testing for Major League players in an article yesterday.

[Via http://graneyandthepig.wordpress.com]

Mexico's Drug War

2010-02-22T15:01:00.000+02:00

I tend to leave this subject alone, for a variety of reasons. Firstly, there’s not much I can add to the international news coverage that isn’t already easily available. Secondly, because a lot of that news coverage can often give a bit of a twisted, one dimensional and tunnel vision view of Mexico to people who wouldn’t know better, and I don’t particularly want to add to that. Thirdly, because, happily, the drug war is far removed from life at Chez Denness, and not something I either want to become involved in, or involve itself in my generally tranquil life.

I would also stress that the reports on Fox, CNN, the BBC and elsewhere shouldn’t deter anyone from visiting Mexico. Perhaps I wouldn’t recommend overnight stays in the northern border towns, but then I wouldn’t recommend that for any country anyway. Dover, in the UK, for example is not a place that I’d want to spend any longer in that necessary. I’m sure the good people of Dover would disagree, but the limited time of a holiday could definitely be better spent further inland. But, still, the drug war is an issue. It exists. It’s not going away.

I often talk to friends, family and students in Mexico City about the drug war and Calderon. He is certainly not the most popular figure in the country, although this dislike is more universal with regard to the economy, although his policies in combating the drug trade also elicit fairly strong responses. Although he does have some support amongst those I meet. The arguments tend to be more in how the war is prosecuted. I personally feel that events are dictating his policies rather than the other way round. And the only analogy I can make of the economy is that it’s like he’s caught in the whirlpool of a flushed toilet, desperately trying to prevent the last few pesos being sucked into the sewer.

We’ll have to wait and see how history views Calderon. Traditionally, history is not kind to Mexican presidents. Traditionally, Mexican presidents have been thieving crooks! But in the meantime, here’s an interesting podcast from the BBC, who dared send a reporter into the midst of the battle.

[Via http://garydenness.co.uk]

Intimacy With Christ- Do We Want "It All?"

2010-02-22T07:20:00.000+02:00

Do we want it all? All of the fullness of God’s definition of Intimacy With His Son? Really? Not my definition–but, really– His? His definition might turn out to be a little meatier, more demanding, and costly than what we imagined.

(Put on the Garments of Praise for the spirit of heaviness! Worth the Listen.)

Indeed God calls all men/women everywhere to “repentance” (To change their course, path, attitude of their mind) and commands all the billions of persons in this generation to put their faith in/union in the Lord Jesus Christ by the believing of God’s good news in Him- Just as it is written, “Faith comes by Hearing and Hearing by the Word of God.” (You see– it takes God’s powerful message- the gospel- Word- to give you the ability to even just “Hear”–”hearing by the Word of God”) Why is God commanding us to Jesus? Well:

Colossians 1:19 (NLT)

For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ,

Hebrews 1:3 (NLT)

The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.

John 14:9 (NLT)

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!

1 Corinthians 1:30-31 (KJV)

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

You see God is commanding us to the Living Lord Jesus because in Him is God and He in God. Jesus is the Vine– we are the branches to remain in/stand in all that He is to us- Literally- Everything- Really- Everything (No fiction here or over bloating who He is to us). The verses I mention above simply put it that Jesus is Divine and all power and authority and glory dwell in Him and that’s something God has never been ashamed to admit. For, out of the Heavenly Glory God said that this was His Son with whom He was well pleased.

(Jesus is Lord of All — Hard to find song- worth listening too the end! )

Again- why might it turn out to be meatier, more demanding, and costly than what we might have imagined “Intimacy With Christ” means? Because– though there may be times of dimly lit candles– so to speak– with Jesus Christ and His bride lovingly at the table enjoying each other– there are days of woe, darkness, confusion, pain, tears, suffering in a cup. (Blessed Be The Name- Song) When his disciples said that they would follow their Lord anywhere Jesus mentions a cup– a cup filled with all the above mentioned for them to drink.

Matthew 20:22

But Jesus answered by saying to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”

John 21:18

I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” (Some traditions have it that Peter was crucified upside-down because he felt it not his place to be crucified as His Lord and Savior was…)

The Apostle Paul did indeed have as His Motto- “That I may know Him”– or “I live now by faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” However— Paul didn’t sell Himself short on Intimacy With Christ– Paul included getting to know,

“the fellowship of His sufferings…being made in the likeness in the way in which Jesus Christ died.” (Jim Elliot was made/became in the likeness of His Lord laying His life down for the natives freely as “Faith worked through Love”.)

OK– I have said it before and say it again– “There is no Morphine Jesus”– “There is no Morphine Father.” And– “There is no Morphine Holy Spirit.” We’ll all have our days where we find ourselves with a cup in our hand- if we are continuing on with God in Jesus Christ. And that cup requires a grain of wheat to fall into the ground (Perhaps the deepest desires of your heart to be set down at the feet of Jesus to take up an unknown path– His path– though marked with suffering.) There is nothing easy about going the full course with Jesus– nothing. If someone has told you otherwise you might want to read Paul’s missionary journey a little more closely in Acts. God has set a different race before each of us. In that race the people in the book of Hebrews/Covenants were tempted to turn back– Paul had to remind them that their previous sacrifices– though as hard as things were– would not be unjustly be forgotten by God. He also reminded them in chapter 11 that a great cloud of witnesses had gone the hard path before them by various ways or means. Peter understands that suffering is part of the Christian walk in that he underlines that suffering for doing what is right is “well pleasing with God.” Hmmmmm— why? Because– what other choice do you have? You either live in the truth or live out of a lie. Why would a God who never lies enjoy watching His kids live a lie? Why would He be pleased when His kids live in the truth and suffer? Because– that’s just what He would have done if He was in their shoes and He proved it by sending His Son Jesus to show exactly what He would have done. Get it?

(Psssssst- hey, you — if you’ve never suffered for some involvement with getting closer to Christ or obeying Him– ya really gotta wonder– were you ever His? Are you? Really? )

Now– let me talk about the outpouring of and the indwelling Spirit. He too is not a Morphine Spirit– not here to make you high. Not here to give you blurry red eyes and to say, “Hey dude– I’ve got the munchies and by the way– Jesus is cool.” Rather, when the Lord Jesus was glorified He poured His Holy Spirit out upon His people from Heaven as a sign that He was ultimately glorified in Heaven to the fullest measure. Yes, the Spirit was sent to open eyes, regenerate, teach, comfort…. Yet, ultimately– He was a sign that Jesus was glorified in the Highest. Though– this be a fact- the much talked about “outpouring” has already come when Jesus was glorified- we need the eyes of our understanding opened to receive it as a fact just as we receive as a fact that our past, present, and future sins are covered once forever by the blood of Jesus Christ. Second, this Spirit- This Person- indwells us. With the Corinthian church struggling with various sins- Paul decides to take them straight to the fact that they are the temple of the Living God- their bodies. That God, Jesus Christ- by His Spirit lives in every believer. The Potential is within us-Him. We are God’s tents- so to speak. Jars of clay holding this great treasure. Now– with that said– is it like being pumped with Morphine? No– the Holy Spirit may comfort– but, there’s still a cup of suffering. You know- the cup that just won’t go away though we may beg thrice or a million times for it to go.

(Put on the Garments of Praise for the spirit of heaviness! Please- listen.)

In the Christian’s dictionary of words and phrases are words/phrases like faith, reckon, put on, put off, renew, be renewed, be transformed by, be filled, quench not, grieve not, abide in/ remain in, cast your cares upon, pray for, pray without ceasing, be anxious for nothing, rejoice, encourage one another daily, meditate day and night, sing, praise, walk in the light, be as your Heavenly Father, walk as Jesus walked, love not in word only, love in deed, weep with one another, present yourselves, give, ………….. All these be the Cast and Crew of the Holy Spirit to get us to the end of the race having some resemblance of Jesus Christ. Each of these words or phrases can carry the weight of years of learning/hard times and blessings. The Holy Spirit does not do a spinal tap into us and just inject us with Jesus– all of Him– and replace our years of thinking, experiences, emotions all at once. It’s a process– uphill– becoming more like Him and becoming more Intimate With Christ.

That’s where some of the pain/foolishness comes from– our years of Adamic living (body, soul, spirit—did you notice the order of things are backwards here—rather than, spirit, soul, body)—apart from God. Doing it alone. Or doing it in our imaginary little world “with God’s help” to make us good enough with our spotty works to stand “rightly” before Him. Not. That’s called- “Work your way to Heaven” theology- it’s just not true and never will be. You see– just because we have bad habits/thinking that flow from our mommy and daddy Adam and Eve who were permeated with rebellion—doesn’t eradicate that we still have “legitimate” desires. Yes, Legitimate- sometimes very strong- desires. We want people to be nice to us. We would like to have more than enough food for our nourishment- pleasant food. We would like to have healthy relatives. We would like to have a purposeful and pleasurable job/employment. But, you see— sometimes these are not– and so— pain. No “Morphine Jesus” on the run to get to us before we experience even one disappointment. Nope– He’s simply not going to be that to us 24/7.

Secondly, moving in the direction of God’s Word/The Spirit’s leading can be costly. We might actually have to give something that costs us something (many will give as long as their primary comforts they rely upon daily aren’t disrupted). We actually might have to lay down something that cuts in on a pleasure. To become more and more consecrated to His purposes might mean that we endure a sleepless night. To be His man/woman on the scene where He wants us might dig into our wallet or purse a bit. But, again– God takes no pleasure in his kids living out lies and though– He sees the cost– He takes pleasure in His kids laying it all down. Everything. “Faith works through Love.” Loving God, our neighbor and enemy– by the Power and Enduring Spirit who was poured out upon Christ’s People to demonstrate He’s/Jesus is now glorified in the Highest and indwelling His people to demonstrate that Jesus is all in all–yes, folk- we sometimes Love at a great cost.

Things that are not to be in our dictionary- Selfishness, arrogance, unkindness, getting even, not losing or looking like a loser, having all men everywhere speak well of us, continually experiencing pleasure, never putting another ahead of ourselves, never going out on a limb to save a fellow-man, not taking time to just enjoy worshipping God, not taking time to converse with God in prayer, not taking time to get to know what His Spirit has written into the Bible, not taking time to spend with His people, not caring for His people as much as judging them harshly, hypocrisy, not yielding to God’s Will to be done, not doing the good we know to be done,….

Father God, I guess what’s being said by You and Your Word is that the Christian walk can be painful, requires us to submit to and put our faith in Jesus Christ even when things don’t look that great. Father, you have given us all the sufficiency and sufficient Grace we need to carry out your will as You have promised that we’d not be allowed to be tempted beyond what we can bare– and in it You will provide a way of getting through. Father, You have told us to cast our eyes upon the Author and Perfector of our faith–but, it turns out that that Author suffered at the hands of men. Was ridiculed, scoffed at, disbelieved, and eventually physically harmed and murdered. We’re not looking at rose pedals falling from the sky– rather– as the old song says, “The old rugged cross.” There’s something rugged about the Christian walk even if the Holy Spirit is empowering us– he’s not numbing us. Even if the Holy Spirit is doing miracles through us– He’s not laying out a path for those miracles where there’s a lazy-chair every ten or so feet. He- the Holy Spirit is undoing us stitch by stitch and re-making us into Your righteousness and the undoing can feel very painful. Father, help us when the Legitimate Desires we have are not met day after day, week after week, year after year, decade after decade. Some have become bitter with You– I pray I will not nor the reader regarding the things that are not wrong to desire- just, that- Father- for whatever reason they are unrealized. God– You are the God of all comfort and there’s something more comforting in walking in the Truth rather than a Lie whether it’s painful or not. It’s more painful to discover one’s life has all being a lie at the end of the day. So, Father, thanks for Your Word of Truth, Gospel of Truth, Son- who is The Truth, and Your Spirit of Truth. In Jesus Name I Give You All The Glory- AMEN.

[Via http://kamvanhereweghe.wordpress.com]

How Sweet It Is

2010-02-19T15:08:00.000+02:00

Every now and then, life gently cups your balls, blows softly in your ear, and reminds you just how good it can be. And I have a feeling it’ll be doing quite a lot of that over the next few days.

For one thing, with no pressing matters to attend to down at the offices of Luddite, Crapstone & Fuchs, I’ve decided to treat myself to a three day weekend. True, things usually go to hell when I leave my vice president, Sherm Schweinbumser, in charge, but there’s only so much damage he can do in one day.

Moreover, I just placed a call to Pete’s Poontang Emporium and they’re sending a trio of “Catholic school girls” to my palatial estate for the duration. You know, in honor of Lent. Don’t forget to bring your toothbrushes, ladies! Not that your mouths will have a lot of free time, but still.

Also on tap: a gross of OxyContin tablets from my new connection, Skynyrd Dave. You might remember him as the character I met in the parking lot of McDonald’s last week. I generally have a strict policy against doing business with the poor unless I’m in the market for whores or fast food, but given the bad rap that doctor shopping has gotten in recent years, I’ve had to become more flexible in that regard.

Oh, and as to my other little problem. Let’s just say you won’t be hearing anymore about Kang, and I have nothing to say about any squirming duffel bags that may or may not have been thrown out of a moving vehicle in front of the local offices of the Department of Immigration. I do hope to have a full-fledged butler hired soon; I’ve certainly learned my lesson about trying to go the cheap route with a foreign-born houseboy.

Anyhow, time for a quick Speedo wax before my dates arrive. If you’re in the neighborhood this weekend, by all means — don’t stop by.

[Via http://oswaldcarver.wordpress.com]

'Washington right now is broken'

2010-02-17T15:23:00.000+02:00

Vice President Joe Biden stated that “Washington is broke” the country is in deep trouble. It’s a fact: politicians are loyal only to themselves, if you follow the money,you will see that the economy is corporate controlled. Men in suits(policymakers) must focus on the agendas of large corporations. Terrorism, war on drugs, war in Afghan and Iraq is fabricated to keep the population afraid and insecure.

[Via http://greedygreg.wordpress.com]

I'm a bad blogger. Spank me.

2010-02-17T07:37:00.000+02:00

Yeah yeah yeah I know. I never update.

Well that’s because I have a bunch of random stuff running through my head that I want to flesh out before I discuss…but then that day never comes….and a blog never comes. Rundown:

It’s not the fear of flying. It’s the fear of plummeting to my death. (Blog about my fear of failure)

Boys are stupid. We should throw stones at them. But I’ve seen every man I’ve dated as being smarter than me either IQ wise or life experience wise. To the point where I don’t think I could date someone dumber than I am. How does one qualify? Apparently I’ m pretty picky for someone who is like a 6, 7 on a good day. If he uses the wrong “your” or spells something easy wrong? Points deducted. I’m working on lowering my standards though. Like I said, I’m a 7 on a good day. 4 or 5 if I open my mouth.

I PICKED THE WRONG MAJOR!!!!! (blog about having a degree in Communication but not really being able to write…actually that could probably fit under failure fear one) I might actually be crazy. And possibly not in the whole “doing the same action and expecting different results” way. But then again….who is sane?

I couldn’t say it a year ago but I am overwhelmed. (I choose to ignore it right now but if I sit down and really think about where I am in my life and how much my expectations and plans will have to change….I’m going to freak out….and that’s soooo not the remedy to getting my face to clear up [damn you Lupus]. …… I think that’s all that’s been bouncing around in my head lately. Maybe I’ll expand. Maybe I won’t. Ignoring the fact that I slept……14 hours total yesterday….I’m going to bed. Goodnight.

Oh P.S., I need a new name for my blog. Five adjectives to describe me: random, snarky, honest (if we don’t count lies of omission), frazzled, easy to read….well that’s five but I don’t think it’ll help. I’d like to keep the general idea of “through my head, out my fingers” but make it more…buzzwording…errr like…title-y…..like a legitimate blog….if that’s what I end up doing with this. Spanks a lot. P.P.S. I’m looking for a new blog service too. I want a better way to sort my entries (because I am so random). I plan to do some event reviews, food/recipes reviews, diary entries, relationship musings, goal progress entries…..basically I want to talk about the different areas I intend to explore but be able to sort them so people can click on the category that interests them. Is this something I’ll have to learn HTML for? I briefly tried Blogspot but didn’t think I could do it the way I want. Any other good sites? Okay, time to get minty fresh and then off to bed. Wish me a productive tomorrow.

[Via http://megalolicious.wordpress.com]

Withdrawal

2010-02-15T22:27:00.000+02:00

My body shakes…

I get cold sweats…

My mouth goes dry….

My heart-rate increases when I see your face.

Standing up is impossible…I get dizzy and fall back down.

My eyes are glazed.

Everything is foggy.

Every muscle hurts….especially around my chest.

I feel nauseated but when I lean over nothing comes out but your name…

I lay in bed twitching.

My sheets are drenched with sweat.

My teeth ache from gritting them too hard.

Days go by..or maybe it was only hours?

My sense of time is off.

I watch my ceiling fan go around in circles.

I try to focus on breathing.

I focus on the sound of the clock ticking.

I count the blinds on my window.

Something…

Anything….

Anything to keep me from focusing on my heartbeat that seems to be getting slower…

I lay back in my bed and look at the nightstand to my left.

I gaze at the syringe with its long needle…the last drop of you hanging on the tip.

I roll my head to the right and gaze at the small orange bottle that sits on the opposite nightstand.

“Take 2 capsules every 4-6 hours until finished. Consult doctor if symptoms continue after use”

I stare at the bottle…I know that it can save me.

But I would rather have another hit of you…but you stopped giving me my fix….

My body shakes…

I get cold sweats…

My mouth goes dry…

My heart stops….

[Via http://electricphoenix.wordpress.com]

A Hidden Cause: Americans' Illegal Drug Consumption.

2010-02-12T23:21:00.000+02:00

In an house on suburban long island, a group of 20 somethings warm up by the fire and snort some cocaine. Their actions reverberate for the worse for thousands and thousands of miles.

It is estimated that the trafficking of drugs from South America through Central America, Mexico, and arriving in the United States, is worth a whopping $13 billion a year. The economist estimated that retail drug sales(illicit) in the United States is $60 billion. Add these two statistics together, and one can infer a connection between drug trafficking and Americans’ illicit drug consumption.

And Mexico is the final point in transit before final delivery to the United States, making it an integral piece to successfully place the products on the market. It is no secret that Mexico has a long history of corruption and poverty. The corruption is not the exclusive cause of poverty, but it would not rash to assume that it is a significant contributor.

Of course, the steely, unforgiving force of poverty is what causes so many Mexicans to abandon their homeland. They flee from it like one would from a powerful predator. It is, in its own way, a form of persecution; watching your child wither away from malnutrition is a tragedy of the highest order.

The source of Mexicans’ unfortunate plight cannot be grounded into an easy categorical list of causes. It goes way back, but undoubtedly, its remarkably bloody past and its proximity to its powerful neighbor in the North are part of the core. However, I contend that Americans’ illicit drug use, at least within the past 20 years, has significantly increased the amount of unauthorized migration to the United States and here is why:

Quickly visualize the effect that dropping $13 billion dollars in front of poor Mexicans that have no other hope to obtain financial stability for themselves and their family. (they don’t have to be poor, actually, it can be anyone, but the poorer an individual is, the faster they would jump at the money) It’s quite simple; many will grasp at that money with delight in their eyes. Thus, all of a sudden these same people are exponentially wealthier in very short amount of time. A problem, however, is these ill-gotten gains violate Mexican law. The solution: pay off poorly paid police, military, and other government officials. Therefore, government corruption rises. Many officials whose duty is to act in the best interests of Mexico’s people will now be more likely to act solely to preserve their considerable financial gains from illicit drugs, even if it is directly against the peoples’ interest. Without the peoples’ interests in mind, the government, then, does not focus on addressing the already existent poverty, and then, like a uncontained wildfire , its reach expands.

Americans, by flippantly using illicit drugs, create an germane environment for poverty to flourish and blaze its destructive path in Mexico and beyond. Ironically, many Americans who consistently lay all of the blame on individual Mexicans and others Latinos for coming here illegally surely are illicit drug users, or have been at some point. I suggest that those people give themselves lashes for the unpatriotic effects of their actions.

Seriously, though, if there is one reason not to use drugs, it should be that that use has and will continue to destroy human lives–both here and south of the border.

[Via http://bryanjohnsonblog.com]

Obits and pieces

2010-02-12T15:54:00.000+02:00

Recently we were encouraged to write an obituary for a living person of our choice. I used the opportunity to pay tribute to one of the best authors alive today, Bret Easton Ellis. Here is what I would have to say about the great man if he died today.

IN HIS 1987 novel The Rules of Attraction, Bret Easton Ellis wrote: “You will never know me.”

Now, after his mysterious death, the 45-year-old Californian author leaves behind more questions than answers.

And an unexplained passing, prompting wide-reaching explanations from a multitude of friends and acquaintances, is surely the way he would have wanted to go.

Forever an enigma, Ellis rocked up on the literary scene in a wash of overpriced denim and exuberant metaphor.

A cocktail of sex, drugs and hyperbole made his debut novel Less Than Zero an instant hit, while the rushed Brat-Pack film adaptation only served to demonstrate the unreplicable quality of his prose.

No one could explain the secret to Ellis’ writing.

Blending pity and envy, his portraits of privileged existence allow readers a glimpse of something they will never be part of.

Yet, far from offering simple escapism, Ellis has consistently shocked and disgusted his audiences to the point that a snapshot is all they could feel comfortable with.

The gaps between his later novels, often as long as five years, were punctuated by speculation about his private life.

By dealing with the vulnerability of celebrity in Glamorama and developing a fictionalised self in Lunar Park, many felt they were being invited to probe into the existence of a surprisingly secretive individual.

The truth is far more intriguing.

Ellis at a Lunar Park book signing

Just like his characters, Ellis invited reverence and revulsion in equal measure.

And his semi-autobiographical novel Lunar Park only added to the aura of mystery set up by the morally-ambiguous American Psycho and Ellis’ own morally-ambiguous existence.

The overlap between his life and work, culminating in their disturbing convergence in Lunar Park, will leave fans holding out hope that his death is just a plot-device, or even a valuable sub-plot in a much larger and hitherto unread story.

Publishers Knopf have not yet announced whether they will release Ellis’ final novel, Imperial Bedrooms, which was set to hit bookshelves in May.

All that is known of the work, a long-awaited sequel to Less Than Zero, is its opening line: “They had made a movie about us.”

Surely the mystery of Bret Easton Ellis’ life will be unravelled on the silver screen.

He would surely hate the commodification of his life, but secretly love the attention.

*Disclaimer: My details of Ellis’ death and the future publication of Imperial Bedrooms are fictionalised this article was just written as an exercise.

[Via http://tomvictor.wordpress.com]

Just Like A Pill

2010-02-10T15:43:00.000+02:00

Day 41 “…where I can run

just as fast as I can,

to the middle of nowhere,

to the middle of my frustrated fears;

and I swear you’re just like a pill,

instead of makin’ me better,

you keep makin’ me ill,

you keep makin’ me ill.”

~P!nk, Dallas Austin

[Via http://shadesoflife365.wordpress.com]

The End Of A Long Journey To Freedom

2010-02-10T07:37:00.000+02:00

I was afraid to live and equally afraid to die and my life was stirred fried crap. The saying that “God never gives us more than we can handle comes readily to mind”. It took me almost 20 years longer than it should have for me to stop running from myself.

I am a smart guy, but I was ignorant. True I was abused in almost every way possible and it made me bitter and angry and afraid. Afraid to love. Afraid to be loved. Afraid to seem weak. Afraid to leave the pack. I had allowed myself to stop being an individual. I the abused became the abuser. I the heart-broken became the heart breaker.

In my quest to belong to something where I could feel accepted I began to trade things off to get there. I traded my education for acceptance. I traded my family for friends who would accept me for who I seemed to be, because we were all making the same mistakes. I wanted to be seen as strong so I beat, robbed and lorded over others. I gorged where others starved and never got full. I remained empty inside. Eating, but never tasting. Having sex, but never making love. Standing in a crowded room, but feeling alone. Living the street life and strutting around proud as a peacock outside, but ashamed secretly inside. Then it happened I had nothing left to offer the street and it left me to die a slow and painful death. I was reduced to little more than a street beggar. The beauty of this was there was nothing for me to lose and I began the long road back to being Milton Davis the human being. I would love to say that I stopped drinking and doing drugs and being abusive right then and there, but that would take many more years. What I did do was get a job and work real hard to stay out of the street life and I succeeded. I would wrestle with the other things for a long time and eventually arrive at where I am today. Alcohol free, drug free and abuse free. I now try to help others not to make the same mistakes as myself by telling my story of the little boy who fell through the cracks and reemerged to do the vilest of things and then turned it all around and began to live not survive.

My Jamaican Rose

Devon was something I was totally unprepared for and I suppose in hindsight my life could have done without. Messing around with all of my mother’s female friends was getting boring. Vance was in jail for petty theft. I was working for AMJ moving and storage and Jiutane was in the streets. It was spring time and I was and I was going through the process of getting a divorce. I was living at home and feeling lonely. I was drinking pretty heavy and often frequented the local bars looking for a quick night of fun. The local girls found me attractive, but were not looking to be used as a one night stand. The local girls that were a little loose were usually not the pick of the litter, of course this didn’t stop me from sleeping with them until something better came along and Devon was just that something.

My sister was always introducing me to her friends and they most always were in the life and so was Devon. Devon’s pimp (a.k.a.) Piccolo had girls all over Ontario and Quebec. He would force his girls to work in the province they weren’t from there by alienating them from their family and friends and lessening there chances of finding a way out of his clutches. He would drop them in a cheap motel, paying only for the night and tell them that he would be back and he expected them to have his daily quota of money when he returned. It was on the strip that she met Jiutane and became friends. Jiutane and Devon were clubbing in a local bar when after a days work when I bumped into them. Jiutane, who always thought I would make a great player and thought that a woman should do for her man, was quick to introduce me to Devon.

Devon and I talked a long time over drinks and I found out just how frightened she was of this Piccolo character. Of course I had never met him but heard that he suffered from a gimp leg and was reputed to be a nasty fellow. I began to make fun of his name and did my best to reassure her that she had nothing to fear and that I could handle things if she wanted to be with me. At first when I talked to her I wanted to believe that because I was working I was a changed man and that taking advantage of the situation, or falling backwards into the pimping game once again was not possible. Devon was an independent kind of girl and decided that she would stay working on the street until she could find something else. I of course did all I could to talk her out of it, but she was determined to do it and I went along with her, only a little angry at her refusal to quit and only little angry for a little while.

I moved into her motel room and continued to work for AMJ. Everything was good between us, but Devon was afraid that Piccolo would be returning and she didn’t want to be in the motel room when he did. I wasn’t afraid, but I could understand hers and so devised a plan to set her at ease. One day while Devon was out I moved all of our things to an apartment I had taken a short time lease on. I was worried she wouldn’t like it because it was a small furnished place and I hadn’t consulted her. When she got back to the room I told her that I had something to show her. When we walked into the apartment and she saw her things sitting on the floor she began to weep tears of joy. Never has anyone done something like that for me before she explained through her subsiding sobs.

Devon started to go out at night less and started to act like a house wife and I thought I would be happy, but over time she wanted things and her demands grew more and more insistent and I started to feel like I was being pimped. I had no idea that Jiutane was calling Devon during the day while I was at work threatening and harassing her to go to work and treat her brother right or there would be hell to pay. As time passed Devon began to go back out at night but refused to work when she was in the female way, which I didn’t mind, but Jiutane felt was and excuse not doing the right thing. There were things girls did to get around such a time and Jiutane tought she should be using them.

Piccolo came to town and not finding Devon where he had left her stayed in town a few days and looked around then left.

A new drug called crack was hitting the street and was highly addictive. It was said to make whores of pimps and could make a whore think that it was the only man that she would ever need. Shortly after Devon went back on the street she found crack. Devon started coming home repeatedly with no money. Devon would get up earlier and go back out claiming she had to work to pay her way. Devon was soon spending a lot of time on the street and bringing home less and less money. Jiutane called and said that rumours of Devon’s crack habit had hit the streets and that I should drop her because she was making a fool out of me. Devon and I talked about the rumours and she confessed to having a problem, promised to stop and begged me not to leave her. Devon did stop for a while and we began to have as close to a normal life as a working man and a whore can. We went to dinner at my Mom’s, went out to clubs and dinner and made plans for the future. It was when we had these talks of the future that Devon told me how she longed to be with her family and thought if she were back in Toronto she could find honest work. With the language barrier in Quebec it made sense to me and we began to make plans to leave. Devon worked real hard and so did I. We saved and were soon ready to leave. Tickets for the train were bought and we were on our way.

When arrived in Toronto Devon called her half-brother Delano and we took a taxi to his place. Delano was a pimp and had one whore and they weren’t doing very well, but never the less he offered us the hospitality of his home. I was still sporting the afro I had in high school and Devon thought it was time for a make over. A hairdo called the Ess Curl was all the rage and she decided that this was the hairdo for me. A kit was brought home and applied to my head and in twenty minutes I was transformed from Milton the working guy looking for work, to Milton the pimp waiting for Devon to get her ass to work. Everyone in the room noticed the transformation and we all went out on the town to show off Devon’s new man. In club after club I met what seemed like my entire old crowd. I was welcomed back with lines of coke and drinks, and I fell deeper into the game and was seduced into thinking once again that this was the life for me. I had a chest that held my two pimping coats, my jewellery and my hats all the flash required for a player needed to show his success and superiority. Kind of like Zorro and his mask, our alter egos one might say.

Devon and his brother’s girl soon were arguing and it was decided that we should move and so we did. We found a motel room in a suburb of Toronto with the picturesque view of downtown Toronto from our back window and a lake to swim in outside or back door. I lived on the beach in Etobicoke sipping cool drinks for a month. When the motel figured out what Devon did for a living they asked us to leave and we did without protest, because that’s just the way things were in the life. The manager was just doing her job and her decision wasn’t personal. Nothing that happened in the life was ever personal it was all just business. We moved from motel to motel until it was clear that it was time to move back to the big city where being a whore was against the law, but still a recognized way to make an honest living.

We moved into a motel frequented by whores and that by coincidence was the stage for a local television series (Street Legal) and the hustle to survive began in earnest because crack cocaine was back. I decided that I needed an edge in this cold town of Toronto so with this in mind I resurrected the mystic Milton. Remember him the guy who could predict the future and talk to the beyond? Devon was Jamaican and was afraid of such things, so when I mentioned that I could tell the future she was very interested and very afraid. I told her that I was a warlock and knew all that she was thinking and all that she was doing. I told her I would tell her all of her past and what was in her future, but the price for such knowledge was her unwavering loyalty. I told her that any betrayal would result in her immediate destruction, both physically and emotionally. I told her that I was going to use her passport which I kept in my luggage to steal her soul she believed me. The absolute horror that registered in her eyes told me that the hook was in her mouth and set. I went into a trance and did all the stuff I thought Was necessary to convince her and it worked. I told her things that she had told me in the beginning of our relationship mixed in with stuff she had not, but that her half-brother and his girlfriend and she was amazed and afraid. when I told her she would always be a whore and to get used to it she believed it was a vision.

Devon began to stay out later than usual and came home at first with just enough money to survive. At first we talked about what was going on and she continued to lie. I met a woman and her gay prostitute son, in whose house Devon was allowed to turn tricks for a small fee shortly after Devon started doing crack. It was there that I would go when I couldn’t find Devon and the rent was due. One day she didn’t return and the gay guy at the desk was beginning to get insistent and his tone was lacking of respect. People tolerated whores, but had an obvious distaste for their men or pimps. They just couldn’t understand that we were just doing a job that was as old as prostitution if not as honourable. At any rate it was time to find Devon. I searched for days with no luck and no phone call. I think it was on the 4th day that I had to make a decision. I called home ask for the loan of my bus ticket home.

It arrived at the money mart in the early afternoon. I packed up all of her belongings and all of mine and snuck out of the room and by the desk, headed back to Montreal. I was going home to Moms, hot food and a warm safe place to sleep. Away from the street life, drugs, alcohol and that crack head bitch Devon. I was on the bus an hour after the money arrived and back home in my mother’s house within 8 hours. As was the custom the family was gathered for my return and I told them all that had occurred and how I had learned my lesson and would be changing my ways. Everyone seemed pleased that I was home, although the elders seemed to doubt my sincerity.

Jiutane said that she would beat Devon if she ever had the nerve to return to Montreal. All was again right with my world, but it wouldn’t last very long the streets of Toronto were not yet done with me. Upon getting out of jail Devon called me and asked why I had left town. I told her that I had no choice and that not knowing what happened to her or when or if she was ever going to return put me in a vulnerable position. Devon explained how she had been arrested and that one of her girlfriends was supposed to have contacted me to let me know what had happened, but instead went and got high. Devon began to cry and told me all she thought about while she was in jail was me and almost went crazy with despair when she realised that I had left her and Toronto. Devon began to beg me to return to Toronto and her, saying things would be different and that crack would no longer be a problem for us. I think she really meant it and I know I really believed it and neither one of us really knew how wrong or how addictive crack-cocaine could be, but we would find out.

Money was wired within the hour and I arrived back in Toronto and back in the room with all the money, stature and hoop la that befitted a pimp of my stature. We made love and then went out for drinks and of course to celebrate snorted some cocaine. I was back on the top of my game and headed for a big fall. On one of my many walks waiting for nightfall to come I ran into 2 guys. One was a guy who thought he was character Priest from the movie Superfly, the other was a down and out street person. We became fast friends and decided that we, being Superfly and myself would go to the strip bars and try to increase our stables by turning the girls and the homeless guy would become my main man, like in the movie “The Mack”. I would get up every morning now with a renewed sense of purpose and hit the streets. By the time noon rolled around and bars were opening I had already eaten at my favourite ponzarotti joint, surveyed my territory, checked my jewellery as well as clothing making sure all was in order and was looking for my new friends.

Superfly soon lost interest and tired of buying drinks for my main man. The word on the street was that he had a girlfriend and they were a little above the status of homeless people and the only thing that kept their status that high was the occasional trick his girlfriend managed to turn reluctantly while dancing as a stripper. It was rumoured that when she found out from the rest of the strippers that her man was spending his time and her money in the bars and buying table dances, that she kicked him out for a couple of nights. A few nights on a park bench cured him of wanting to be Superfly and I never heard from him again or heard anything else about him for that matter.

My main man was a different matter though; he was having the time of his life. He loved the free beer and food and the $15 I gave him every night to get a room at the YMCA. One fateful day we bumped into Devon, who without even being introduced took an instant disliking to him. Devon ignored him when he was introduced and looked at him like he smelled and in hindsight I guess he must have. Devon suggested rather strongly that I get rid of him. Devon said he was a loser and a drunk, who hung around begging and was beneath my stature and would belittle my stature on the street. I agreed Gerry had to go. When he came around I ignored him after that and it wasn’t long after that he was wandering around the street, filthy always in a drunken stupor with no memory of me at all or so it seemed. Like everything in the street and in my life at the time if you had no purpose you were soon discarded and forgotten.

I beat people up in the street for Devon. I protected her, but I had forgotten the golden rule. “Never become totally dependent on your woman. Increase your stable, so one woman can compete to please you against another. Do neither and you lose power and put it in her hands. Devon kept getting high on crack and finally stopped coming home at all . I ended up sneaking out of the motel again and again waiting in a whore house for her to reappear. When she di d I grabbed her and demanded money to leave the city. Devon promised if I just let her go she would return with the money. Devon never did return. I sent for money and left Toronto this time for good. I never did see Devon again, and sometimes wonder what happened to my Jamaican rose. I was finally done with the street way of life. I would get my job back at AMJ and forget about pimping for good.

The next time you will hear from me I will talk of Joyce. Joyce was 36 years old when I met her and I was 19 years old. Joyce and I would remain together for 11 years in a kind of sick twisted type of way. At 1st the love seemed real enough, but she was to old for me and had memories and hurts which made me pay for in the end. When her age started to show and fear of losing me crept into our relationship she would allow me to do any thing I wanted. My mother applauded Joyce’s having being able to defeat the street and take a job and better herself, but my mother thought her too old for me. I was the 1st young man Joyce took to her bed, but not the 1st young son. Remember Henry form the, High School of Montreal ? Henry was 15 years old when Joyce took him to bed and bought him a car and the memory of that is what helped us in part to get together. The other was a raging hormones on my part and a willing partner who never said no. Joyce was also a great listener and loved to talk. The balance of power between us would shift back and forth between us causing a roller coaster effect in our relationship. We would be together for a while and I would go away to be with a host of other girls returning when I chose, expecting nothing to have changed and very little if anything ever was. This was Joyce’s boy trap, but this is the next story and I will tell it when next we talk

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One Hundred Things You Can Do To Help Other People

2010-02-08T15:28:00.000+02:00

I’ve continued to be inspired by people’s 100 lists and you’ve probably seen many that I’ve highlighted in recent resource lists. Dragos wrote one that triggered me to write another with his excellent post on 100 tips to write huge lists. This list is on my favorite subject and while the length of these lists makes them quite a challenge to make, this particular subject is one I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about and writing goals in so its a great topic for me to tackle in a list. The items were actually fairly easy to come up for me without any research or added web surfing, but the real effort was then in putting a short description or example for each.

Anyway, I’m thrilled to have this list completed and can’t wait to experience and see the results of personally doing every single one on the list. That is the challenge I made for myself and I hope you challenge yourself with some or all of these items as well. This is also my largest single article ever and was awesome to create! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. I’d love if you could help to share it as well, thanks.

1. Smile

This is a great habit to develop to start each and every day and to practice whenever you have the chance. The great thing is that smiling at others is easy and takes nothing but a little effort. Nearly everyone responds to a smile and it makes you and the other person feel better immediately.

2. Hold or Get the Door for Someone

Simple things are a great way to serve others and these little things can really make a great difference. Stop and hold the door for someone whenever you get a chance you hold the door and let someone go in front of you. This sends a strong message and you can really bump it up by combining this with #1, a great smile with the door offer.

3. Help someone get where they want to be

I mean when it comes to transportation or as a physical destination. There are always friends, colleagues and family needing a ride somewhere or a pickup form a trip, vacation or event. Perhaps it’s to be a designated driver for a group of friends. Simply offer to help get there where they want to be.

4. Buy someone lunch

Buying lunch is not that expense, as many people do it everyday and when you have an opportunity when you are getting or eating lunch with someone, simply buy their lunch as well as yours. Don’t offer, don’t tell them, just do it and don’t make a big deal about it. Don’t say they can get the next one, don’t say they’d do it for you, just buy them lunch and leave it at that.

5. Pick up a hitch hiker

This one scares a lot of people and I will certainly include myself in that group. However, it’s a great way to serve others and is a lot safer than we tend to think or what we are often taught about strangers. It is also very safe if you think about where and when it is OK to pick up a hitch hiker and what people you want to pick up. Often you can offer someone (a stranger a ride) when they are not trying to hitch hike and this is very safe.

6. Provide Road Side Assistance

People have car trouble all the time. I’m sure you have at one point as well. Whether its changing a tire, jumping a battery or calling for an expert for a tow. Stopping to help someone can make a tremendous impact on someone who is struggling on the side of the road. This is especially true with accidents and is sad when people leave in a hurry when they should be stopping to help and offer a testimony to ensure people are not taken advantage of.

7. Mow Your Neighbors Lawn

Little things make a big difference and little things for a neighbor can turn an unknown neighbor into a great friend. Mowing a lawn or raking some leaves only takes a few minutes to do a little more than your own yard. it looks better when lawns are mowed at the same time and while you shouldn’t expect it, often such favors will be returned. I’ve experienced this one many times.

8. Invite someone over for dinner

An easy way to develop relationships is to have a meal together and so inviting someone over for dinner is a great way to serve them and that relationship.

9. Give a gift certificate

I love giving people living on the street gift certificates. Gift cards for food or stores for basic needs like clothing you can buy pretty much anywhere and then instead of givingmoney to someone who you have no idea how they might spend it, you can give them something that they have to use for their basic needs. I’ve given grocery store $20 gift cards to peddlers and they are always just thrilled getting it and it makes it easier for me knowing they can’t just turn around the corner and spend it on drugs or alcohol (you can’t buy alcohol in grocery stores here in Canada).

10. Help someone achieve a goal

People often struggle achieving their goals and every one of us can use help in some way. Ask people about their goals and do what you can to help them achieve it. Perhaps you make a suggestion of where to start or some person to refer, a course or knowledge or some personal tutoring or action to help them with, whatever it is, helping people achieve their goals is a wonderful way to serve others.

11. Share your dreams with someone

The more you think about your dreams and share them with others, the more likely they are to come true and for you to spend time on them. So, sharing your dreams with someone and them sharing theirs in return, helps make those dreams more likely and timely.

12. Shovel snow from more than your own walks

If you live in a subzero climate with snow, shoveling the walks can be a regular event in the winter months. Take a few minutes and shovel the walks for your neighbors or a local bus stop, or public pathway.

13. Write an article that helps people

This is an easy one for bloggers as it’s a regular event. For non-bloggers however, writing is not always seen as a way to help people, but it’s incredibly helpful. Pick a subject you know well and write an article about it and share it with people you know.

14. Teach something specific that you know about

Take writing one step further and teach someone something you know in person. Take the time to help them learn it, to explain it and to have then learn from you. Teaching is a great way to serve others and we all have an opportunity to teach others in areas we already have learned.

15. Listen intently in conversation

Conversations and communication can be difficult at times and in order to make it work and to serve others in a communication is to truly listen and to listen intently. Others will feel values that you took the time to listen and they were actually paid full attention and that you cared enough to hear them out.

16. Always let others speak before you

Another angle of communication is in when you speak and when others speak. To give to others and serve them in your communication, let them speak first and present their ideas. Often the people who speak first are the ones credited with an idea (if you had the same idea to share as well) and it’s great to allow that credit and attention to be paid on someone else. It’s a wonderful way to serve someone else when you know they had the same idea as you, but instead of stating that, you can simple tell them, “That is a great idea!”.

17. Volunteer in your community

This likely came to mind when you first thought about serving others and it’s a classic example of course. There are many ways to do this through programs, organizations, clubs, groups, community associations and any other activities in your community. There are often websites and directories for connecting volunteers and placements that would be good for them. Do some searching around your community.

18. Host a homeless person overnight in your home

It’s sad that this is such a scary thing for people image themselves doing but what better way to serve others than to provide the most basic of needs for someone who really needs it. There are many incredibly deserving and kind homeless people who simply can’t afford a home in our rich nations even though they have a job and family. Helping these people out and to get to know them a little and provide some assistance is a great way to serve others.

19. Donate money to a charity

Pick the charity you like, or many and set aside some money to give to them. The best way to give is to set it up to be an automatic width drawl so that the charity knows they can count on that monthly contribution and so that you make sure you do your giving before your other spending. We all spend too much anyway.

20. Pick up loose garbage

Our cities are for the most part, quite disgusting. There is garbage everywhere you go and it will never get cleaned up without people seeing the difference and by helping to pick it up. Do what you can and stop to pick up some garbage instead of walking over it for a change. I especially like to do this when I go out into the wilderness for a hike or ride. I always come home with more than I went out with since I make sure I take a moment to notice and to pick up someone’s garbage left behind.

21. Be a mentor to someone

Everyone needs help to achieve their dreams and goals in life and mentor ship is an excellent way of providing that needed help, encouragement and guidance required. Look for opportunities to mentor people and provide that benefit to someone else as a way to serve.

22. Give away your old stuff

I said it above and I’ll say it again. We all have too much stuff. Do a favor for people in need and give away some of the things you no longer need or use or wear. Others would be happy to have it and it will help you simplify your life and enjoy your time more. Find a few locations that you can drop off your stuff or call an organization that collects your goods to redistribute to those in need.

23. Buy someone a book

If you have explored LearnThis much, you know that I love books. Well do someone a service and buy them a book to enjoy as well. Don’t buy them a book though that YOU would enjoy, buy them a book that THEY will enjoy.

24. Be genuine with your apologies

Put some sincerity into your apologies and be genuine when you do make a mistake. Own up to it and make the appropriate apology in person and in a serious tone.

25. Bring baked goods to work

No matter where you work and if you work with people, people love food. Bringing in some baked goods or snacks is always appreciated. You can do this with your colleagues or clients, just try to ensure the food is something most can enjoy and its best to find something that is not just sugar or unhealthy. There are many great foods to share that are healthy as well and people do enjoy.

26. Compliment someone

Serving others has to be about them. Compliments are a great way for you to focus something positive on them and brighten their day. Find something you can be genuine about and give them the compliment with smile and positive approach.

27. Help to organize charity event

Charities and non-profit organizations struggle to get people to commit to planning an event or attending a volunteer effort. You can help out the organization AND the people it is serving if you help to run the charity or a charity event.

28. Be sportsmanlike on sports teams

Sports involve a lot of different personalities and sometimes emotions. Playing very sportsmanlike and keeping your cool even when others do not, serves everyone playing as an example and often the source of calm for the rest of a team. Do your best to stay calm, play with sportsmanlike conduct and encourage fair and fun play over competition and winning.

29. Encourage people

I just mentioned this for sports above but its possible in all areas of life. You have endless opportunities to encourage people to do what they love, follow their dreams, achieve their goals and do the things they enjoy doing. Encourage positive behavior and fun actions through you day, you will enjoy it more, help others recognize those same things and hopefully, keep more of those actions coming as a result in the future.

30. Give books you’ve read away

Not many people read all the books they have, let alone read them more than once. If you have books you know you will not read away keep them in mind and anyone interested in that subject, simply give them that book. I absolutely receiving free books from others and always enjoy reading them as I know there is someone to have a conversation then with about that book.

31. Be a friend to those who don’t deserve it

Friendship is often thought to be something that is earned. Well serving others you not looking for what others earn, you are simply serving others. Extend the offer of friendship to someone who doesn’t seem like they deserve it. Perhaps they have made some bad choices in life, hurt you in the past or stuck in a difficult set of habits to break. The best thing for them is a true friend and it’s a great way to serve if you can provide that.

32. Support mission and aid workers

There is constantly aid work going on around the world and traveling missionaries or support works in developing nations and disaster zones and they need support. You can support them with funds, letters, time, gifts or any combination of those. Spread the word as well and help these organizations grow, they are themselves doing a great service that deserves more support.

33. Share your creativity

Creativity sparks new ideas in others and ideas trigger change, growth and hope. Sharing your creativity with others serves these same results and is a great way to connect with people as well.

34. Promote someone else’s idea

We all our own ideas but how often do you reinforce and encourage someone else’s idea. Just one more way to serve and build others up.

35. Tell someone they are your friend

It’s funny how we don’t know how to classify as a friend or not. Everyone has a different definition of this, but we all like to hear that someone is our friend when we do finally hear it. Make it obvious if you are around someone new or you just don’t really know if they consider you a friend or not, to specifically say it. Fit it into a sentence or an introduction or just a comment, like it’s great to do stuff like this with friends, thanks.

36. Introduce a friend to someone they don’t know

Friends make connecting with other people much easier and if you ensure you always introduce your friends to other people you know, it builds new connections and make more people feel welcome in a conversation. It’s never fun to be the third wheel not knowing someone in the group so make sure you always introduce people to each other.

37. Talk to people at parties who look “out of place”

On the theme of meeting people and introducing people, often you can serve others by simply approaching them and introducing yourself. It only takes a minute and can make a new person or someone who is uncomfortable or out of place to feel a lot better. Invite them other into a group you are with, or just spend a few minutes to ask them questions and help them feel more comfortable.

38. Stay calm and don’t react in arguments

Arguments are a sure way to cause problems and staying calm may not be the easier thing to do (especially if you are under attack), but it is the best way to serve others both in the argument and seeing it indirectly. If you can stay calm and not make the situation any worse, then you do everyone a service including yourself from not reacting negatively.

39. Support your loved ones no matter what

We often put higher expectations and judgments on those we love instead of accepting thing for who they are and their decisions. There is nothing wrong with hoping for them to change or break away from destructive habits or decisions but there is a point at which you simply must support them as well if they make decisions or choices that you don’t agree with. Isn’t that the best way to show you love them anyway?

40. Share successes

People learn from the success of others and so sharing both your successes and the successes of others with more people is an easy way for everyone to learn from those experiences.

41. Practice appreciate inquiry and positive dialog

Appreciate inquiry has so many benefits it’s a wonderful way to help people feel included, listened to, engaged with and ultimately it’s a way to bring the best out of people and what they are involved in doing. I strongly believe in this one as it has such a focus on others and bringing out the best in people it is really an exceptional way to serve others.

42. Pay for the stranger’s coffee behind you in line

Head on through the drive through or even at a till in person and tell the cashier you would like to pay for that other person’s purchase as well. You will quite likely surprise the cashier and the other person with such a simple act of kindness.

43. Offer your seat on the bus / train

Public transport is often quite crowded and its sad how selfish people seem to be when onboard. Look for a chance to offer your seat or a helping hand to someone traveling with extra bags, children or perhaps a disability.

44. Operate a blog and give away great content

This is obvious one for me and I’m sure many of my readers here as well. Blogging really is about serving others once you start writing for what your readers want, and not what you want yourself. The best blogs exist because of the authors wanting to provide value and great content. There is much to learn from blogging and the best part by far, is the way it serves others and connects you with people.

45. Take on a project as a DIY with a friend

Do-it-yourself (DIY) has many benefits and when you can offer to help a friend take on a project you are doing a great service for them. Your help, support and perhaps expertise will bring you together to accomplish something and enjoy it when its done.

46. Accept others ideas without immediately judging them

It’s easy to be critical at times, especially if we think we have our own better idea. Do a service to others and don’t discount or be negative towards their ideas. Let them stand on their own and don’t immediate judge them.

47. Put and keep your cell phone out of site in conversation

This is a huge pet peeve of mine and I’ll never do it to others. If you are in a conversation with someone, give them your full attention, face them and put your dang phone away. It sends a poor message to be playing with your phone or answering it in the middle of a conversation. You can’t serve someone when sending the message that whoever might be calling is clearly more important than you so I’m going to check right now.

48. Inspire others

This is a whole list on its own for ways to do this but we do all have things we are passionate about and enjoy. Spread that passion and look to spark inspiration in others in sharing those.

49. Share appreciation aloud

People rarely feel appreciated enough even though it is incredibly easy to do. Practice expressing what you appreciate about someone and do it aloud so they hear it and perhaps others will hear the same, share more or learn from you to do the same.

50. Share gratitude in life

Similar to appreciation to others, gratitude is usually expressed towards circumstances, gifts and talents and life and life in general. Some show gratitude to God, to others or to their environment. Be grateful for what you have, recognize the abundance you have to experience and share that gratitude with others. Spreading gratitude and recognizing it is definitely a way to serve others.

51. Demonstrate perseverance

There are many ways to demonstrate perseverance but I’m thinking more specifically in the ways you are already serving others. Taking items on this list and persevering to keep them happening, to keep on practicing, to keep on serving.

52. Make moral decisions

Moral decisions are ones that are considered to be right. Moral decisions serve the general good and allow you to serve by making choices based on what is right and good. We all have a moral grounding as human beings and it’s how we are created and how we think at the deepest fundamental levels. Using that moral compass for our decisions serves others in these good decisions.

53. Live ethically

Ethical living has some parallels with moral living but perhaps more from the human defined perspective, and not human nature. Ethics are largely defined by our cultures and society and so making that system stable and effective requires that we follow ethics and make decisions that take society into mind and use that in the way to live. It’s all about what is right for many, a great way to serve others.

54. Share your mistakes with others

Mistakes are a wonderful way to learn and something that can easily be taught to others if shared. Examine your mistakes and do more than learn from them yourself, share them with others. You can gain a lot of trust in sharing mistakes and help others learn from those actions before they make the same mistakes.

55. Clap and cheer aloud

You often have a chance to clap for someone or even cheer for them at conferences, events or sports activities. What about in meetings, daily work or even at home around the house? Take a moment to recognize others and serve them by showing your appreciation for a job well done, an accomplishment or for taking on a new adventure. Show them by clapping for them or cheering. Bring others into the habit and use it often. We do this in my workplace very often in meetings, after hearing good news or any accomplishment that is share with a group. The cheers and clapping always bring on a smile and serves everyone involved.

56. Tell me about yourself

Tell me about yourself or introduce yourself are pretty common questions in interview and sometimes in business meetings with new clients or with new employees and colleagues. Use this chance to share your values and principles instead of just your usual background like where you work, your educational background or where you live. Tell someone what you value most, why and what principles you follow in all of your life. This has much more significance, surprises people so gets remembered and creates a faster stronger relationship can typical introductions.

57. Magnify someone’s kindness

Visit BondChristian.com and read about magnifying someone’s kindness and then go do it. Marshall wrote, “So how do you magnify someone’s kindness? You truly appreciate it. You accept it – you accept that in that moment, you are depending on someone else, that you really do need someone else.”

58. Be willing to describe your vulnerabilities

Vulnerability exposes oneself and is an catalyst to building trust. When people see vulnerabilities, they relate quickly and connect at a stronger level which immediate builds trust with that person. Vulnerabilities also humble oneself which leads to…

59. Be humble

There are many ways to be humble, not just in exposing vulnerabilities. Giving credit to others, taking blame, talking about others not yourself, and avoiding the temptation to be right are all great ways to be humble. Humility is goes hand in hand with serving others from a character trait perspective and the focus on others is what allows humility to surface.

60. Choose to be happy

Happiness is not something you seek, it’s not something you can find and its not something you can gain based on “if only…”, “when this…” and “as soon as this happens…” thinking. Happiness is something you must belief you can have and you then have to choose to be happy. You can be happy with hardship and suffering all around you and under terrible circumstances in your life if you truly believe you have that choice. For all those that need outside influences to be happy, you can provide that service and choose to be happy and to be an example of happiness for those around you regardless of the circumstances.

61. Admit your faith and beliefs

How you possibly serve others if you do not share or admit for faith and beliefs with them. Wouldn’t that be deceiving them, hiding things from them or even lying to them if you take it too far in fear of telling them? If you truly have faith and believe in it, you HAVE TO also believe in the value of sharing it. Yes, there are good times for this and perhaps some bad times, but you must be willing to admit your faith and belief systems.

62. Ask open ended questions

Good conversations depends a lot on questions and interaction between people. You can give control of a conversation and draw someone into being more expressive with you by asking open ended questions that allow them freedom to respond with more of their thoughts and not just a yes or no answer.

63. Be a change agent

We need to change through life or we become complacent and we die within our trapped lives. Change prevents that and allows people to grow and develop. Obviously personal development is connected deeply to change and if you see the value in it, serving others should involve being a change agent to help make changes happen in your life, those around you and your community for the better lives of all.

64. Avoid and guard against gossip

Gossip can be disastrous to friendships, careers and other people’s lives. Learning to avoid gossip and guard against it both for yourself and for others is a valuable service to engage in.

65. Live with purpose

Purpose is difficult to understand if you don’t know your purpose yet. It becomes the driving force in your life and gives you the energy to do all that you do in place of all the distractions and selfish acts that tend to keep us from our ultimate purpose. I’ve learned that people who believe they know there purpose rarely claim a selfish one and its most often one that has a betterment for others at some level in it. I believe we all have this created in us and so living with purpose in some way involves serving others. I certainly know that’s in my purpose.

66. Express your passions

Passions expose a positive attitude, joy and excitement from a person when they are expressed, or at least more so than normal topics. This excitement rubs off on others and in turn help to encourage them to be excited or to express their own passions as well.

67. Ask more questions than you answer

Asking questions shows interest in others and makes them feel more comfortable and connected in conversations. Use questions to serve others.

68. Hand write a personal thank you card

Hand written cards and especially thank you cards are very impactful compared to verbal, email or other means. Write a personal note or thank you to those that do things for you. It’s a simple way to return a good feeling.

69. Take the blame

I don’t mean to take the fall for things you did not do (as that seems dishonest), I’m meaning to own up and take the blame when you do make a mistake. Owning up to it instead of denying it, blaming others or fighting back in any way is the fastest way to resolve things and so a great way to serve others.

70. Keep excuses to your self

It’s very easy to be get defensive and this is related to the blame game above. We use the technique of the victim cycle to make excuses in life. Keeping these excuses to ourselves at least keeps others from getting sucked into the blame game and helps to protect our habits from impacting others. Of course learning to eliminate excuses altogether is best but even the first step of keeping them to yourself helps to serve others.

71. Apologize sincerely

It’s actually quite sad to see how poorly most people apologize. Insincere and often still accusing of others disguised right within the apology. “I’m sorry you took it that way” is a LOT different than saying “I’m sorry I hurt you”. Keep your apologies sincere and always make sure you only include what you did that you are sorry for.

72. Promote employee engagement

A great way to serve others at work is to engage other employees and colleagues whenever possible. Look at ways to involve others, find things that excite your colleagues and show interest in people over the bottom line.

73. Give honest feedback

Mastering feedback is a crucial skill for a manager but can apply to anyone when serving others. Feedback is a powerful tool to use to send a message of concern and care. If feedback is used properly, there is no good or bad feedback, it’s simply a way of showing concern, express a hope for developing the best in others and a great way to serve them.

74. Tell stories

I love stories and I know many others do as well. It’s unfortunately so many people loose the interest in stories as they age, I for one have not. Anything told as a story or that makes a story is of interest to me over other experiences and I know that stories have a way of drawing in others and developing relationships. Telling stories attracts people and is often used as a way to communicate an otherwise complex topic.

75. Control your response

While it is difficult to master, we do control our response to every situation in life. The choice is hard to always make the way we want to when thinking clearly yet with practice, we definitely serve others by getting better as controlling our response and being constructive and positive in otherwise difficult circumstances.

76. Master your state of mind

Our response is typically due to some moment or short time frame. Our state of mind however, is really an extension of that response and applied over long periods of time. State of mind affects our emotions, our mood and our thoughts at a drastic level and so in order to be at our best and to be in a state of mind that is helpful to others, we need to have some control over that state of mind.

77. Use the words, “Thank you.”

Why is “Thank you!” so hard to say? Compliments can be hard to come by sometimes and I believe its because we are so good at wrecking a good compliment with a poor response. Sometimes we argue back and say things like, “No I didn’t” or “Nah, you’re just saying that”. People have been taught that that is how to be humble but they are sadly mistaken. Responding in this way sends the message that they are wrong and so the compliment is rejected. It’s a terrible thing to do and subtly and unconsciously stops people from sharing compliments. There is one good response for a compliment, two simple words, “Thank You”.

78. Be prepared

The good old Scout’s motto, “be prepared” is a great way to think when it comes to serving others. If you are not prepared, you will need to be dependent on others and if you need them, how can you serve as easily. I’m not saying there are not exceptions to this, but in general, if you are prepared for a circumstance, you are more likely able to serve others in that circumstance yourself.

79. Stay healthy

Staying healthy keeps you out of the health care system, keeps others from having to look after you and enables you to live longer, set a good example and be able to serve others. If you can’t look after yourself, how can possibly serve others as easily?

80. Live with less stuff

Serving others tends to take a second place in life for many of us from all the other things we have going on. We volunteer if we have time, we help a friend if we are not already doing something and we put our spiritual needs behind our career and family for the most part. Well, all our stuff and complexities tend to distract us even more and so living with less stuff and activities is an easy way to serve others as it frees our time for it and lets us put it as a priority.

81. Eliminate complaints

Complaints are toxic to other people and their moods. Most complaints are simply dwelling on the past and never really help anyone. Do others a favor and eliminate your complaints.

82. Keep emails positive

Emails are a cause of many communication breakdowns from saying things the wrong way or sending an unintended message. This happens especially with emails that are criticizing something or negative in tone. To prevent this and to keep in mind your service to others, keep your emails positive.

83. Communicate in person

When you have a chance to communicate in person over email, voice mail and even the telephone, take it. You can always communicate more easily in person than other methods.

84. Ask for help when needed

Another way to serve others is to ask for help when its needed. People do generally want to help when they can and asking for help is a sure way to give them that opportunity. Taking on work yourself often leads to frustration and bitterness which can have long term effects that affect your ability to serve. Sharing skills, advice and a helping help is a great way to serve others, on both sides.

85. Use your talents

You are created with your own set of unique talents and when you discover what they are you should use them. Talents are wonderful to show with applied skill and are very inspiring to others. Your talents are always the areas you will have the most impact in and if you use your talents, you have the greatest ability to serve others.

86. Practice patience

I’ve had to learn this one the hard way and am realizing how effective applying patience is in serving others. While I used to get very frustrated and impatient with others, I’ve felt that God has been testing to learn to have patience and has opened my eyes to see how it is best for others when patience is practiced. I have learned the value in it now and truly believe that patience is a powerful way to serve others.

87. Protect forests

Our forests, our planet, our resources, it’s all a hot topic globally now and for good reason. We are destroying what everyone deserves to enjoy and a small portion of the humans are destroying the largest percentage. It’s a shame and the only way to combat it is to serve others by protecting the forests, the resources and our planet as a whole.

88. Forgive an action

Holding a grudge will get you know where. Forgiveness as hard as it is, is the best way to serve others. It’s the key to Jesus’ message and if we can live like Him, we are serving others by doing do.

89. Cancel a dept

Have you ever chipped in a few coins to cover someone’s bill at the grocery store? How about the money a friend borrowed and has never paid back yet? Cancel the dept and simply give it to them with no expectation of repaying the dept. If someone owes you something, don’t hold it over them, simply cancel and forget the dept and hold onto the relationship instead of the moneyattached.

90. Avoid the unimportant

Unimportant things distract us constantly from our lives, in our work, our families and in our relationships. The dept mentioned above could one of these things and it prevents us from realizing and experiencing what actually matters. If you want others around you to experience the best memories and relationships with you that is possible, avoid the unimportant and start doing, saying and acting on the important things in your life.

91. Be enthusiastic

I know that this one may be somewhat a personal preference but as a very animated and enthusiastic person myself, I’ve heard countless times how my energy and enthusiasm is such a great presence and character trait. I see the same in others and so I definitely believe that enthusiasm builds positive energy in others and that can only serve them by influence and perhaps, by being contagious.

92. Donate blood

This is a huge need for trauma care and a very selfless act that is truly done to serve others and provide a critical need.

93. Use positive dialogue

Positive dialogue fits into a few other items here as well but this is specifically in how you talk and what you talk about. If you focus on the positives in your life and words you say, you will make a positive impact on others as well. Positive dialogue includes discussions, your comments, feedback, hopes, dreams, aspirations and stories that are uplifting and positive in nature.

94. Do extra household chores

This is an easy one to do but unfortunately the word, “chores” has such negative thoughts associated with it for most people we avoid it. If that is the case for others as well, would you not say then that to serve them well would be to do some of their household chores?

95. Give anonymously

Giving is a great way to serve others. Make it an even better service by leaving a mystery by giving anonymously. If you are serving them, you don’t need the recognition and certainly don’t need the receiver to feel any obligation. The best gifts are the ones received in gratitude and anonymous gifts are easier to be grateful for than one that is connected elsewhere in our lives, so give anonymously.

96. Leave a specific compliment with a tip

Tips are an easy way to serve others in return for what they have done for you. If you want to make a stronger impact, then write a note or message with a tip to leave a specific compliment. Perhaps at a restaurant you could ask to speak to the manager and tell them about the great service you received from a specific server. The restaurant manager will be happy to hear this and the server will likely gain other benefits, far more than just your added tip.

97. Say hello often to strangers

Living in Calgary, while it isn’t a huge city, its much bigger than the small town I grew up in and it is odd how seldom people say hello. I hate that about the city and I’m doing my best to change it. You can to by greeting strangers, smiling in public and by simply hello to people as often as you can around the city. I ride my bike to work and love the bike paths I ride along as I often pass by people and have a chance to spread a smile and a hello. Most often it brings a smile in return and isn’t that a great way to serve. I think so.

98. Keep your promises

Being a person who can be trusted to do what you say is an important way to serve others. Breaking a promise kills trust and takes much longer to rebuild. If you want to serve others, you need to keep your word to them and be honest when you know you can’t keep your promise as early as possible or ideally, before you make it in the first place.

99. Let love for others drive your life

Love is the most powerful thing in this world. It provides us all with an ability to drive through incredibly painful circumstances. It brings about hope and joy that can overcome any amount of suffering and it sets an example for service to others and to God like nothing else. Love is a gift we all have the option to experience by God’s grace, it is offered to each and every one of us. Experience that, make love a focus in your own life and use it to drive your life to serve others.

100. Recognize when God calls you to serve

Finally, my last in this list of 100 ways to serve is to open your mind and heart to God, to listen and then ultimately to act upon his calling in a way He wants you to serve.

[Via http://afteramerica.wordpress.com]

Intimacy With Christ-- Jesus Distant or Detatched?

2010-02-08T07:24:00.000+02:00

Living a life of being distant and detached— well, it comes with its own set of problems. But, how did the Lord Jesus Christ live? Did he live within all the ups and downs and all arounds of humanity? Did he just detach himself and walk around with half closed eyes when looking at something that “irked” him- like tuning himself out or numbing himself out? How would we live our lives if we were perfectly perfect and knew just how much every action our eyes and ears cast themselves upon sucked dust?

(Father, we need a Rushing Wind- Song)

You know– so many of us pray to a perfectly loving God. Enjoy a perfectly loving God. Get all shiny up on the mountain with a perfectly loving God. And then- and then- we must come down from the mountain and cast our eyes and ears upon that which is not perfect– being religious folk, non-religious folk- and then our own thoughts, ideas, and mistakes- as we interact with the fact that there’s something wrong with everything. Easy being just with such a great God- right? (What Do I Know of Holy? Digging Song!) Something wrong with everything is not a teaching I just made up– the Bible teaches it– there’s just something wrong with every little thing. Whether it begins at an atomic level, genetic, temperament, social, physical… or whatever level.

So, Ahem– “Intimacy With Christ” — what does it mean–Does it mean I spend my days in isolation, behind my favorite songs, on the phone with my favorite people, doing all of my favorite things– and you know— avoiding those situations that reflect something about us we know is wrong or something back about what’s wrong around us. Well, what’s the balance– where are we with those things?

(Life Will Never Be Easy Song–Have Your Way)

You know Jesus Christ– as The Word Made Flesh or the Living Word—God’s Son dwelling among the daughters and sons of man had to grow up from baby-hood all the way to adult hood. He had ample opportunity to “blow” it time and time and time again. He was on a learning curve like everyone around him as he grew both in wisdom and stature and favor with men (Luke 2:52’s historical account). He got smarter, wiser, and knew how to socialize. As much as some would like to hide themselves away from people, situations, and things they don’t like– that’s just not our Lord. Jesus– after thirty some years of mixing in he heard from above along with His disciples the evaluation of his life up until that moment– you know– about 946, 080,000 seconds he “mingled with life– “This is my beloved Son with Whom I am well pleased.” OK– break the seconds into halves where Jesus could have just stepped across the line just once. He didn’t. Never. He was “well pleasing” to a Holy- Thrice Holy- Infinitely Perfect Father/God. (Will We Be Well Pleasing- When it’s all said and done?)

I. You ever notice that perfectionists often times are the first to be rude? Melancholy temperaments- though gifted with things such as musical ability, an eye for detail, creativity, … sometimes can’t get beyond others’ imperfections along with their own- so, criticize, criticize, and criticize again. Jesus was Perfect. How do you think things looked to Him? How do you think certain injustices made Him feel?

II. He was not so Phlegmatic (easy-going) that nothing penetrated a thick, thick skull of numbness. Otherwise he wouldn’t have wept, cleansed the temple, or hardly say any saying that some didn’t want to hear. (He was truly The Gentle Healer- and His physical healings are only a reflection of what He wants to do in our heart. About that- he’s not laid-back.)

III. What about being so focused that he became a bone crushing/driven Choleric? Wow– “Look-out everyone— here comes that Jesus guy and he’s out to get ya– he could just end up calling down thousands of angels to deal with us all– run.” No, Jesus Christ was given a mission–but, that mission wasn’t to “judge sinners- rather- to save them” in His own words.

IV. How about being a light-hearted laughy Jesus— ummm— but, lacking in the “commitment” department? “Well boys, you twelve are starting to really get on my nerves. I think I’m gonna chose another 12.” Jesus stayed with His own to the end and still does– no matter how far we have fallen short of the things that please him, encrouched upon the things that displease him, or just have been absent in terms of relationship with Him. He’s a good shepherd and pokes us to come back. He’s committed. (You Are My All in All– Great Song)

When Jesus Christ mingled with our universe/people- he didn’t just put himself in the best of places (Psalm 23)- “beside the still waters”- and stay there. Yes, he was immediately filled with The Person, enshrouded by the Presence, and endued with the Power of The Holy Spirit. Then off to a wilderness alone he went to be “temped by the Devil” ( You know– “the new kid on the block” that gained a footing on earth to be a kind of god/lord here (Apostle Paul’s words) because Adam opened the door to abdicate his total ruling of all things on earth.) And then Jesus entered civilization– and if you think that the Devil left him alone after the Wilderness experience– your wrong. Jesus Christ was not Detatched or Removed— ever—except that He detached His heart to be totally for His Father and Removed His Heart’s affections to be affectionate first and formost to His God/Father and to his neighbor and even enemies.

Me thinx the struggle ultimately— to walk as Jesus did among men as a perfectly balanced, normal, and righteous individual before God required that nothing– absolutely nothing took place on the throne of His heart– except to love the Lord His God/His Father. And now– ours is to not allow anything upon the throne of our hearts except the Lord Jesus to the glory of God the Father by the Holy Spirit (Jesus words: “As the Father sent me so send I you.” How did the Father send Jesus? With the Father on the throne of His heart by the Holy Spirit).

How many seconds did I say Jesus pretty-much lived up til he heard that he was well pleasing to the Father from baby-hood until that moment? 946,080,000 seconds lived and logged-in as perfect and having nothing on the throne of his heart other than a Love for His Father and His Father’s Perfect Loving Will. Was that ever seriously tough and seriously testing for the Lord Jesus (And now- He knows our frame when tested and can comfort perfectly)– Ummm- Yes, big time as he “broke-down” (not in a sinful way) in the garden just before His crucifixion from the weight of the thing he was about to do.

“Guard Your Heart for out of it…..”

In terms of solutions to “being caught of guard” as a believer around imperfect situations, imperfect religious folk and non-religious folk, bad news of losing this or that…. on and on– one really must pray contritely/humbly in the spirit of this kind of prayer- “Lord Jesus- take my heart– I don’t want it— it’s yours– you bought it and Your Father planned on you buying it before the worlds began.” (I emphasize the spirit of this prayer rather than word for word in that you’re an individual and “Intimacy With Christ” is personal. There are “crafted” prayers that only you are meant to craft to express your desire to have only Jesus on the throne of your heart. (A Great Heart Song- Ministries All Over The World)

When things get wacky: Did things ever get wacky for the Lord Jesus? You bet– the God of His nation had promised to restore them through a greater covenant than Moses– the covenant of “the prophet” Moses spoke of and the “Christ” the scriptures spoke of as well as the “Kiss the Son” King King David speaks about (Psalm 2). So, there He was– the New Covenant/Abrahamic Covenant popping up again in time and space (real history) and people on the most part were glib towards him much of the time.

He had:

1. People plotting to kill him again and again and again.

2. People telling Him that he was of the chief of demons.

3. People pulling open other people’s homes from the roof to lower down the sick. How’d the person owning that house think?

4. His own disciples- who he had poured out pretty much everything too- missing the point again and again and again in petty rivalry, unbelief, jutxtapositioning, cowadice to the point of denial, and going off the deep end at times in their thinking.

5. The mother of a couple of His disciples asking if they could be sitting with him on his throne in His future Kingdom– wow– the nerve. LOL Yet, there He was talking with them/or listening more?

6. People throwing palms down at him and calling him a King crying out “Hosanna in the highest.” And later crying out “crucify him.” Talking about being famous for a day and infamous for a day–who’d want that on their worst enemy?

7. Spending hours alone in some place like on a mountain or in a garden praying into the wee hours because he so desperately and intensely needed the Father’s Grace and Power to face a day of thousands of people, many miles of travel, places where food wasn’t plentious, and not having a home to just go an relax in as his own.

8. Him– the Son– a King– being treated so rudely—the One “by whom all things were made” treated worse than the thieves and haters of God.

9. People dying and crying around him, and then even bringing him to tears and then him calling out to the dead, “Lazarus come out!” — and out comes the dead and people are happy again. An emotionally taxing moment. Up and down and around.

10. The Most innocent man ever to live spit upon, beard plucked, flesh torn from whips perhaps tied with glass at the ends or metal, kicked, punched again and again, laughed at, scorned, forced to carry a cross, nailed to it, lifted up among the guilty, not “worthy” enough to be within the Holy City– rather crucified outside of it…… (Jesus Truly Had This Song Fixed In His Heart- We Can Too- Not Easy- It Never Is.)

The Bible says, “He learned obedience through the things which he suffered.” He couldn’t completely withdraw. He couldn’t be detatched. To Finish His Race/His Work.” Neither can we in this life unless we become a Hermit or get to the moon somehow with a life’s supply of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. You see- there’s not much to learn by way of obedience if your Father/Maker only sent you again and again and again to sun-tan and slurp on your favorite drink on some beach. If that was Jesus lot– there would have been no “learning obedience” at all– as this would be more a gift from God than an act of obedience to God. God, for Jesus to be our perfect Priest to understand our situation fully before God’s face as He pleads our case required His Son to know what obedience means in a terribly imperfect world.

How is it that godly men and women of the past made their way through this life growing in God’s Grace and Knowledge of Him?

1. They realized that at any given second there could be a curve ball and so the need for meditating upon God’s supportive/comforting truth.

2. They realized that at any given second there could be a curve ball and so the need for going to a lonely place to get alone with Jesus and seek mercy in time of need regarding to the circumstances they knew about and the ones that were going to come they didn’t know about.

3. They realized that at any given second there could be a curve ball and so the need to exercise “self-control” (even while whispering to the Holy Spirit) I need Thee– how I need thee— to guard their hearts from idolatry/other things getting back on the throne.

4. They realized that at any given second there could be a curve ball and so the need to soak themselves in “Intimacy With Christ” by counting all the ways in which He/God has loved us and how He made that clear on the cross.

5. They realized that at any give second there could be a curve ball and so they entered into worship either secretly signing/humming or making melody in their hearts around the goodness, mercy and perfections of their Great and Wonderful God-so, keeping their hearts soft– the kind of Throne Jesus seeks as he is near to the contrite spirit.

6. They realized that at any given second there could be a curve ball and so realized that being “on guard” — there wasn’t and apathetic or lukewarm gear they kept themselves locked into…rather, they kept “aware”, didn’t sleep on the job, took every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and set the Lord Jesus as Lord apart– over them.

7. They realized that at any given second there could be a curve ball enough times and came to “Relax”, “Rest” and “Realize” in the Lord Jesus God’s Grace– so that if their foot did slip— His mercy, grace, and love is always here to catch. Always–so, this list—well, it’s helpful but, honestly — “Jesus and Intimacy With Him” is at the center— not a list like this one– as helpful as it may be and emphasizing our need to be second by second believers. Really– there is a “Rest” for the people of God in Jesus– a faith that move in Him.

Father God, help us to first thirst and hunger to be “Intimate With Jesus Christ.” Help us to not “freek” at a “second-by-second” authentic Christianity—rather, help us to keep it all simple and child-like. We need Thee and need to be aware that we need to be aware and to find as many ways possible to tap into the strength and grace in the Lord Jesus Christ (which by the way isn’t morphine to take away all pain, trials, suffering, or even being caught off guard). (What The Lord Has Done In Me–Without Morphine.) Yes, You care for us– even us Oh God, and You will show us Your good in the Land of the Living. Yes, You will show us Your Good in the Land of the Living. If our foot should slip– help us to repent/change our mind/heart and turn back to the right way, right response, the right way of recovering our mistakes. Oh God, Oh Holy God, “lead us not into temptation” to show us that we must be soft, we are weak, and to show us when we aren’t depending on You. Rather, Father, open our eyes and ears far, far before it would require us ever to be “led into temptation” – rather, deliver us from Evil. Lord Jesus– we give You our hearts. We can only make a mess of our lives if we use Your Measuring Bar to tell the truth apart from giving ourselves to You— as for other Measuring Bars– they are so low that we feel just spiffy when we use them– but, then there’s Yours Oh God. And that Yours is now in the shadow of the Mercy Seat- the Cross of Christ. Help Me- Us Oh Lord. In Jesus Name- AMEN.

[Via http://kamvanhereweghe.wordpress.com]

Cops in Jail

2010-02-05T15:52:00.000+02:00

Kudos to the Jacksonville police officer who had the courage to turn in two fellow officers recently for committing a crime on the job. Apparently the officers wanted to look for drugs in a house located in a high-crime area, but they didn’t have a search warrant. So instead of developing the probable cause they would have needed to get a warrant, they decided to take matters into their own hands. They removed a room air conditioner and went into the house, then made up a story about a lady driving by who reported a burglary so it would look like they were justified in going into the house.

They didn’t find any drugs in the house. Now they’re in jail.

Sadly, too many officers take shortcuts. Over the course of the last 18+ years as a criminal defense attorney, I’ve seen it too many times. I’ve had clients tell me about it again and again.

I guess these officers feel like the ends justify the means, but they never do. Their actions taint all of the hard-working, dedicated officers who play by the rules while protecting the public.

The criminal justice system is designed to ferret out the truth, and most of the time it works. Usually, when it fails, it’s because a cop or a prosecutor decides that winning is more important than justice. It never is.

I’m sure the officers charged in this case will feel entitled to a fair trial, which they are. I’m sure they’ll want the evidence used against them to be obtained legally, which it should be. That’s the thing about the Constitution—it covers all of us, in all cases.

You can read more about this story at http://bit.ly/dChmmy.

[Via http://sullivanandhepler.wordpress.com]

Drug Discovery In India and China - Gaining Momentum with Increasing Pressure on Cost Cutting

2010-02-05T07:35:00.000+02:00

Bharatbook added a new report on “Drug Discovery In India and China – Gaining Momentum with Increasing Pressure on Cost Cutting” gives Future ffor the Drug Discovery Players in India and China.

Drug Discovery In India and China – Gaining Momentum with Increasing Pressure on Cost Cutting report ( http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=130313&rt=Drug-Discovery-in-India-and-China-Gaining-Momentum-with-Increasing-Pressure-on-Cost-Cutting.html ) provides key data, information and analysis of the major trends and issues affecting the Drug Discovery market in India and China. The report provides a comprehensive insight into the drug discovery process and the key services that form a part of drug discovery process. The report also provides a detailed analysis Indian and Chinese drug market in terms of its size, share in the global drug discovery market, major service offering of the companies in India and China along with the major therapeutic areas of focus under those services. The report also talks about the factors that are driving the drug discovery market in India and China. The report delves into the key regulations, especially with respect to intellectual property rights protection in the two countries and how the regulations have benefited the drug discovery companies in these two nations. It also provides an insight into the government support initiatives in these countries to encourage the drug discovery research. The report also analyses key partnerships between the western pharma and the local companies in the two countries and the key trends emerging out of such partnerships. At the end, the report looks into the major challenges in the future that can restrict the growth of the drug discovery market in India and China.

Rising Financial and Regulatory Pressures on Western Pharma will Continue to Drive the Drug Discovery Research Market Growth in India and China

The pharmaceutical industries in the US and Europe are facing severe financial constraints which are expected to worsen in the years ahead. The pharma companies are under increasing pressure to reduce expenditure due to, the increasing cost of introducing a NME (New Molecular Entities) (more than $3 billion in 2008), tightening FDA regulatory issues, blockbuster drugs worth more than $100 billion set to expire by 2014 and drying pipelines These pressures are expected to drive the companies towards low-cost countries such as India and China to perform their R&D activities, one of their major expenses.

Over the last decade, India and China have developed significant capabilities in drug discovery research along with considerable capabilities in phase I & II clinical trials. Both countries are able to provide significant cost savings in the range of 60–70% for discovery research and clinical trials. With discovery research occupying close to one-third of the R&D expenditure for the Western pharmaceutical industry, outsourcing to low-cost countries is logical.

Inflammatory Diseases, Metabolic Disorders and Oncology are the Three Major Therapeutic Areas of Drug Discovery Research in India and China

While the Indian and Chinese drug discovery companies have developed major service capabilities, many of the companies have also defined their therapeutic research focus. Analysis of 12 Indian and 10 Chinese companies research portfolios reveal that inflammatory diseases (18 companies), metabolic disorders (18) and cancer (16) are the top three therapeutic areas Other major therapy areas include anti-infectives and CNS (Central Nervous System). Major inflammatory disease research includes; COPD (- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis), psoriasis, osteoarthritis, ulcerative colitis and atherosclerosis.

However, at the country level the therapeutic focus is found to be different. Indian companies have concentrated their efforts on metabolic disorders; primarily diabetes, obesity and dyslipidemia. Chinese companies have focused on oncology; primarily leukemia, cervical cancer, breast cancer and prostrate cancer.

Deals Landscape is Equally Driven by Mid-Size Pharma and Big Pharma with Oncology and Metabolic Disorders as Key Therapy Area of Focus

With improvements in the capabilities of Indian and Chinese companies, the intensity of discovery research collaborations with Western pharmaceutical companies has increased.. The deals market has been equally driven by big pharma as well as mid-size pharma. Over the past year, 41 major deals have taken place in India and China, of which 20 deals involved mid-size companies while 19 involved big pharma; mainly Merck, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. Two of the deals were with universities. However, the increasing interest of the mid-size pharmaceutical companies suggests the rising interest of such companies to exploit the cost and quality capabilities of India and China.

Many of these deals were focused on services rather than a therapeutic area. However, among those that had a therapeutic focus; oncology, metabolic disorders, infectious diseases and inflammatory diseases were the major therapies targeted.

Funding Problems and Talent Shortage Will Be the Two Biggest Challenges in Future for the Drug Discovery Players in India and China

While the drug discovery market in India and China is growing rapidly, its future growth faces two major challenges; funding problems, especially for the private companies, and significant talent shortages in biology and chemistry services. While China has considerable government support, a large part of the money goes to government funded research institutions and universities. In India, the government has adopted PPP model as a tool to encourage pharmaceutical innovation but the major beneficiaries include CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) affiliated institutes and small pharmaceutical companies. Venture capitalists, in both the countries, are largely risk-averse to invest in early stage R&D activities.

Besides funding problems, the lack of a sufficient talent pool with the specialized skills, experience and employability will create further problems for the drug discovery companies in both the countries.

To know more and to buy a copy of your report feel free to visit : http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=130313&rt=Drug-Discovery-in-India-and-China-Gaining-Momentum-with-Increasing-Pressure-on-Cost-Cutting.html

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[Via http://bharatresearch.wordpress.com]

Who called me at eight o'clock this morning?

2010-02-03T15:43:00.000+02:00

I have my suspicions,

really I do, however I

will refrain from accusing

any or all of the conspirators

at this time, but at another time,

I may name names without prior

consent and/or warning.

What is wrong with you people?

It’s a good thing that I’m such

a well adjusted morning person,

or there very well may have been

consequences and/or repercussions

for some or all of the guilty party or

parties.

I misspell repercussions and inconvenient

every single time.

[Via http://magicjones.wordpress.com]

Intimacy With Christ- Compassion- Or Compassionless?

2010-02-03T07:41:00.000+02:00

God is a God of love, mercy and compassion. All through the scriptures you can find this. He isn’t the mask of an angry faced God. He’s love. He’s not standing with folded arms taking pleasure in the suffering of all who reject Him- He’s compassionate. He’s not doing all that He can to pour out judgment, justice, and wrath and all wrong doings- He’s Merciful.

(Oh- How He Loves Us- Oh)

No, He’s not a cute little gummy bear. Rather, He is still Holy Thrice. He hates all sin. And I am yet to think of just one sin that isn’t tied to a violation of love. (To me now the word sin means simply- violating love since God is Love and Light is Love.) Can’t think of one. There’s loving first Your Maker/God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind— that’s the first Commandment which we have all broken. Then there’s loving your neighbor, family, friends, and now- even our enemies. e.g. “Father forgive them they know not what they do.” Can you think of just one sin that doesn’t violate Love/Compassion/Mercy? Theft- hey, that’s taking from your neighbor. Living by the gun and dying by the gun– hey, that’s taking the life of someone’s son or daughter, brother or sister, relative or friend. Losing your temper over something stupid—that’s hurting someone not building them up. On and on and on—you see—when the Bible says, “God is Love”– as a Triune God that includes love for Himself and others. (Do You or I want to stay the same? When it’s all said and done….)

Matthew 12:7 The Lord Jesus

“If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.”

(I remember the movie “Schindler’s List” where the Nazi is told that true power was in showing Mercy… hmmmmm— picturesque.)

People, religious folk– some in Jesus time– had forgotten all about Mercy. They got so tied up in the “do” rather than the “You” (Compassionate Father- wanting Intimacy with Him like a deer panting for the waters) that they completely missed the mark. Religion got to the point where it beat people up rather than built up. This makes God sick to His stomach. In this verse the weak, helpless, and innocent are simply stomped on.

Also, how does a society get to a place where the innocent are Simply/Easily — without impedance– stomped on? How I ask? Just how does it get to be that? I hear of this person owing $30,000 in a drug deal and then a life is on the line for not paying. Parents cough up the dough and the life is saved–SIK. Which in Jesus’ eyes is worth more the coke or the life? Which I ask? ( I know– when I was a young guy I said and did stupid things– words like, “Yeah, I worship the devil.” flowed from the lips of my generation foolishly. But, hey– never thought of taking a life over any amount of anything.) I see on the news young people taking pleasure in kicking a street person to death. How did we get so far away from the shore of Mercy, Love, Compassion, and Kindness??? How can that be fun, pleasing , or entertainment? I’ve seen cars smashed, entered, and cleaned-out and heard of it– is that loving, kind, compassionate, or merciful? My Aunt– dying of cancer in her forties had this happen– think! What did you do in Red Deer to a person sick with cancer? (Hey, I’m not speaking down to anyone here. I have sucked at times too.) And His eyes see it all and do you think for a moment that All things haven’t been judged already? Yes– they have by a God of Love. Imagine putting such things at the back-drop of love and then calling out a judgment. You see– people– all people have been judged and Jesus took the severe penalty. The Psalmist says that if God held all our wrong-doing (mine included) against us who could stand? Nobody.

Now, we’re either on one side of the cross looking at Jesus’ judgment as our own– Him taking the blow for us that we deserve- or on the other side “manning up” as it were to mockingly stand before a Loving God to take the blows of His anger against violating love. My friend, God knows how to undo every thread of your manly or tough womanly exterior so that when you stand before Him it you’ll simply be powerless to hold that “toughness” together before Him. It won’t be possible. Jesus says that those on the wrong side of the cross will weep at The Judgment. Sound like something a gang member would do? God will undo such- every thread to weeping and begging and sorrow. Sound like something “The boss” will do (weep, beg, and have sorry)– God will loosen all threads of willful “tough exteriors” against the back-drop of what the loving thing was to do with their lives. (Hey, again– I’m not talking down to anyone here.)

James 2:13

“Mercy triumphs over judgment!”

You see folk– on the right side of the cross of Christ you enter into experiencing His mercy. It says, “We love Him because He first loved us.” One must experience this or that– love or mercy– before one can truly dispense it to others. Dispensing it to the point where when Jesus “judges/examines” even those who embraced the truth— He’ll see they dispensed Mercy because they caught the virus of the Cross-His Cross– it was infectious and spread to others– Love/Mercy.

2 Corinthians 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

I wonder sometimes as I coffee with believers where the core, the central values fall. I wonder about me sometimes. When I first open a door, first sit on a chair, first open my mouth is the driving force inside of me Agape (Greek– Biblically– the highest most noble love) and Mercy and Compassion? Basically Psalm 36:9 says, “For with You Oh God is The Fountain of Life. In Your Light we see light.” (My Chains Are Gone!) He’s the beginning and end of any good that comes out of me. In His Spirit’s presence, working, grace–I’m standing in God’s Light and I then can see light.” You see folk– “What God is like our God?” (The Bible) Is it too late to come to Him even now– to Jesus– No one billion times over! (Mighty to Save- begins with the words– Everyone needs compassion…)

Matthew 9:36 About the Lord Jesus

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 14:14 About the Lord Jesus

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Matthew 20:34 About the Lord Jesus

Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Mark 1:41 About the Lord Jesus

Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”

Mark 6:34 About the Lord Jesus

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

Luke 15:20 About the Lord Jesus

So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. (A story of a son who grabbed all his inheritance, ditched his dad’s farm and his brother, went off to Par-Tay (modern day terms/song)–ended up going pretty much against every loving principle of his father and ended up broke– went back and…..)

Ephesians 4:32 About the Body and Bride of Jesus Christ

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (What a cool God hey?)

Get the point yet? (You Are The God Of This City! I Witness That Oh God Every Day!) Paul speaks of a people having a zeal without knowledge in one place as being bad since this was a zeal not for Jesus and was Merciless. If my foot isn’t prefaced with Love— I’ve missed Jesus’ whole life, ministry and work. I’ve missed it all. If my zeal for love, mercy and compassion makes me unmerciful, unloving and uncompassionate towards people who are religious (without such qualities) and people who are not (without such qualities)– I’ve missed the point.

How then can we be compassionate? First one must be born from above as the writer of John chapter 1 says– we must be born from above– and as many as received Him– Jesus Christ– to them God gave the power to become the sons and daughters of God. Then we soak, soak, and soak ourselves in Jesus— with this driving Motto behind us— “I want to be intimate with Jesus”– “I want to take His yoke/tying Himself to me to be the leader/teacher to learn of Him.” Stretching with every limb because He first loved us– “I want to know Him”–pants Paul with a deep thirst and hunger for more of Jesus. Yes, this soaking is in the Word of God, but, it’s for the sake of knowing the Living Word and by the Living Spirit of God– it’s not just left at Bible knowledge. Never. Never was it meant to be a PHD in Jesus-ology. Rather, it was meant to be and end with people taking note that we have truly spent time with Jesus. (And Enoch walked with God for 300 years.)

As I said before we are Jesus’ Lego Set (Modern term- or Potter and Clay)– He’ll take us apart and put us back together again and again and again until we are truly a loving, gentle, kind, gracious, forgiving, …………….. people. As:

“Faith works through Love” (Make Me a Prayer! Awesome Song.) (People getting healed- that was faith working through love! That’s what all “ministry/ministries” are supposed to be.) – note the healings of Jesus. Really- that was faith working through Love- His heart filled with Love which at the cross was broken by Love.

(Song With China Clips– knowing this– His heart was broken for every tongue, tribe, and nation– Really)

Jesus loved first– always. There’s no healing in the Bible without love behind it in any of the verses I quote or any of the verses I didn’t quote. True healing inside and out begins with Love. Our hand must extend an invitation card of Love. It just simply must– to every sort. Every.

Francis Schaeffer (Me thinx in the book The Tapestry) is recorded as having gone to his barn to “collapse” to some degree in on Christianity for the sake of either going the way of truth or the way of truth- antynomy. For, he had always told his students that if it’s not true– then it’s not worth your time. In the barn he was going over his many experiences with Christian leaders and was troubled—so troubled—at the lack of Love which he saw in the Christian “Name-Sakes”. To Him at this moment- how could this Christianity be true without authentic love among the “leaders.” Well, he got past that question as the Holy Spirit ministered to Him in that barn. And– became a more loving person himself. We too may end up in our “hypothetical” lonely place asking the questions about our leadership, our church, people who are supposed to “support us” or “those who are spiritual” not acting in a gracious manner towards us… we may find ourselves becoming more and more the initiators rather than the recipients of compassion, love, mercy, and kindness- because we discover others are not (Or as God blesses discover that some really are and so want to be like them.) Really.

Father God, when I first open a door, first open my mouth, first open my eyes, first open my ears, first sit on a chair or first stand up—let each “first” be prefaced with compassion. Father, as Jesus was crucified– as Love was crucified– they said, “Where now is His God?” Father, the world looks upon and asks the same question. Those who hate You and those who hate us and those who hate me (Or Not) ask, “Where then is His God?” Father, You let the whole world know You are the God who is Here and Is not Silent when You raised Your Son from the dead, gave Him a name above every name, and Highly exalted Him to the Highest. There You are Father God! They just couldn’t see. There You are– God of Love. Dispensing justice for sin upon Jesus’ and dispensing justice by raising Him from the dead. Father, grant me to be careful with my life. Grant me protection from Jackals– so that I may preach The Kingdom– Jesus’ Kingdom by how I live my life and what I say. Father, if this is being read by someone who doesn’t know You I pray Lord You would wrap around such a one with Your presence. I pray that You would penetrate that one’s heart and soften it. I pray that such a one would experience all Your Mercy, Forgiveness, and Compassion at the Cross where Jesus died for them. In His name I pray– AMEN. (Though Me thinx Jesus didn’t look like the clip with blue eyes–the clip makes my point– Merciful Savior)

[Via http://kamvanhereweghe.wordpress.com]

Marijuana legalization tops list of YouTube questions for Obama | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

2010-02-01T23:28:00.000+02:00

Image via CrunchBase

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via Marijuana legalization tops list of YouTube questions for Obama | The Daily Caller – Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment.

[Via http://californiamarijuana.wordpress.com]

Morphine prevents PTSD! or does it?

2010-02-01T07:26:00.000+02:00

Interesting headlines in clinical neuroscience. It looks like a shot of morphine after injury is correlated with slightly lower risks of developing post-traumatic stress disorder. But despite the promising headline’s like:

Morphine found to help stave off PTSD in wounded troops

Morphine shows promise against post-traumatic stress disorder

and intriguing speculation about the neurochemistry involved:

It is not known whether morphine’s apparently protective effect arises directly from the relief of traumatic pain or indirectly by blocking the brain circuits that lay down traumatic memory.

the actual study results don’t actually seem that impressive to me:

In the new study, Holbrook and her colleagues looked at the records of 696 wounded forces. About 40 percent had been injured by improvised explosive devices, generally roadside bombs; about 20 percent by gunshots and 10 percent by mortar rounds. About 70 percent received morphine within an hour of being hurt.

Most people developed PTSD, diagnosed from one month to two years after their injuries occurred. Those who had received morphine, however, were somewhat less likely. Sixty-one percent had the disorder, compared with 76 percent of people who hadn’t gotten the drug — which researchers said translated into a 53 percent reduction in risk.

I’m up too late to try working backwards to figure out how they calculated the percent reduction in risk, but if 76% of people get PTSD without morphine, and 61% of people get it with morphine, aren’t we talking about 15% fewer people in the patient population getting PTSD?

Overall, this is a very strange study to choose to write up in medical news, since, as the Washington Post article mentions, the science would have to be much, much better to make morphine shot a routine post-traumatic procedure (though it doesn’t mention why. My intuition is that it might have something to do with the fact that morphine addiction has historically been, and continues to be, a serious problem among veterans.

(Quotes taken from David Brown’s Washington Post article, linked above.)

[Via http://ptsdinthemedia.wordpress.com]

Biodel Inc. - Medical Equipment - Deals and Alliances Profile--Aarkstore Enterprise Market Research Aggregation

2010-01-29T07:33:00.000+02:00

Biodel, Inc. (Biodel) is a development stage specialty biopharmaceutical company. It mainly focuses on the development and commercialization of innovative treatments for endocrine disorders like diabetes and osteoporosis. The company was founded in 2003. It is headquartered at Danbury, Connecticut, United States.

Biodel Inc. – Medical Equipment – Deals and Alliances Profile is an essential source for company data and information. The profile examines the company’s key business structure and operations, history and products, and provides summary analysis of its key revenue lines and strategy as well as highlighting the company’s major recent financial deals.

Scope

- Provides key company information for business intelligence needs

- Gives information on the company’s major recent financial deals including Mergers and Acquisitions, asset transactions, PE/VC deals, equity offerings, debt offerings and partnerships.

- Data is supplemented with details on the company’s history, key executives, business description, locations and subsidiaries as well as a list of products and services and the latest available company statement.

To know more about this report kindly visit:

http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/Biodel-Inc-Medical-Equipment-Deals-and-Alliances-Profile-22870.html

[Via http://aarkstore.wordpress.com]

Brooke Mueller's father comfirms rehab stint

2010-01-27T23:51:00.000+02:00

After weeks of speculation, Brooke Mueller, wife of Charlie Sheen, is in rehab. No one knows for sure what happened this past Christmas between the couple, but Mueller’s stepfather, Jon Fiore, has confirmed that that she is in Two Dreams Outer Banks treatment center

Here’s what dear ole dad had to say:

“She is there. But it’s a recovery place, and it is in a resort setting and the picture I’d like to paint more is that she’s seeking help she wants to, she dealing with this. This is a lot to deal with and I commend her for finally, you know, she couldn’t go back to the house, what is she going to do? With all the problems and the stress?

“She’s getting help and her mother is with her. I commend her for that. The positiveness of this is that she is recognizing that she needs help and she can’t do it on her own.”

“The main thing is it is all about the kids. It really is. These kids are gorgeous, I miss them dearly. I was with them for a month straight and they’re just incredible kids.

“They’re young enough and hopefully this will all be behind them. The kids are still in California with Charlie and the nanny.”

[Via http://livelyindepthmusicentertainment.wordpress.com]

Larry Sinclair, Obama, Obama thugs push Sinclair too far, Social Security politics, Larry Sinclair response, Robert Gibbs, Rahm Emanuel , Joe Biden, Barack & Michelle Obama , David Axelrod, Barack Obama & Larry Sinclair: Cocaine Sex Lies & Murder

2010-01-27T14:59:00.000+02:00

From the moment that Larry Sinclair made public his allegations of his drugs and sex encounter in November 1999 with Obama two years ago, Sinclair has been attacked’ illegally incarcerated and threatened with losing his Social Security disability payments. The Obama thugs have gone too far this time.

From Larry Sinclair.

“Today January 25, 2010 I returned to Social Security as instructed on 1-11-10. This morning Supervisor Lucy Cruz admitted that Social Security LIED in their letter dated January 8, 2010 and that SSA Employee Boothe LIED to my face during our meeting on 1-11-10.

Mrs. Cruz also admitted that I am being investigated based on “agency information” and that SSA will not provide me with any info as to what the allegations made are nor who made them. This is America where the accused has the right to know what they are accused of and by whom.

Today these bastards have picked the sore one too many times. You want to see one crazy individual when they have been pushed one to many times these bastards are fixing to see just that.

Robert Gibbs, Rahm Emanuel , Joe Biden, Barack & Michelle Obama , and David Axelrod are about to find out just what one individual is capable of when you push them from behind too many times.”

Read more:

http://www.larrysinclair.com/Social-Security-.html

[Via http://citizenwells.wordpress.com]

Victor Lewis: "Clean for 14 Months". Interesting perspective on the Croft and addiction...

2010-01-25T15:45:00.000+02:00

Victor Lewis is well known on the Croft. With his bashed-up guitar, he has been ever-present on the streets. We saw him last week looking sharp, and sorted. He gave us this insightful interview.

You cans watch more videos on PRSC Youtube site

[Via http://stokescroft.wordpress.com]

Why the West CANNOT Win the War Against Chronic Diseases with Drugs Alone

2010-01-25T06:57:00.000+02:00

In several previous posts, I have cited statistics and trends with respect to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other chronic diseases that are currently rampant in the Western nations. Historically, in the US and other Western nations, we have relied primarily on prescription drugs to address these and other chronic diseases. But, is that strategy still viable? Let’s consider the following.

Data suggests that in 2005, the total number of prescriptions purchased in the United States was 3.6 billion and in 2006, the average number of retail prescriptions per head was 12.4 (1) In the United Kingdom, on average, people aged 60 and over received 42.4 items per head in 2007, compared to 22.3 items in 1997 – indicating that the average number of prescription items dispensed to older people doubled in a decade in that country (2). Research from Medco Health Solutions Inc. (a company that manages prescription benefits for 1 in 5 Americans) indicates that prescription drug use is on the rise not just among Seniors. In fact, the biggest jump in the use of chronic medications is in the 20-44 year-old age group – adults in the prime of life who are already on the committed path of drugs “for life” for conditions such as Depression, Diabetes, Asthma and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), amongst others.

Economist Paul Zane Pilzer (Author, The New Wellness Revolution, 2nd Edition, Wiley, 2007) has an interesting perspective on this rise in the use of prescription drugs. In one of his recent articles, he stated that prescription drugs were first developed by individuals such as Dr. Jonas Salk and Dr. Alexander Fleming – physicians who developed the polio vaccine and antibiotics such as penicillin. These agents either prevented disease from occurring in the first place or cured acute disease relatively quickly. According to Pilzer, however, today about 95% of prescription drugs are “maintenance drugs” – that is, these drugs do not prevent disease, but treat only disease symptoms, and for most individuals (once they are on them) are designed to be taken “for life.” In spite of these traits, the world’s five top-selling prescription drugs (Lipitor, Zocor, Nexium, Prevacid, and Zoloft) presently account for more than $25 billion in sales in the United States alone (3).

TOUGH QUESTIONS THAT MUST BE ANSWERED

In light of the general rise in chronic disease rates (i.e. the rise in new cases of diabetes, heart disease, etc.) in the US and the West, even in the face of an astronomical rise in the use of prescription drugs, the question inevitably arises: If we are so well medicated in the West, why are we still so sick? If prescription drugs alone are the answer to our problems, then why are rates of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many other conditions generally on the rise?

My answer to the above (apparent conundrum) is that one of the main reasons why chronic disease rates are on the rise in the Western nations is because we are grossly failing to address the fundamental root causes of these diseases to the extent it is possible to do so, given our current state of knowledge. I am not against the use of prescription drugs. I believe that they can be, and often are, life-saving especially in acute situations. However, I am against their excessive use, and abuse, in situations that evidence indicates should be – and can be – ameliorated far more safely with simple nutritional and lifestyle changes. While I believe that there is certainly a right and proper place for the use of prescription drugs, the numbers cited above clearly indicate that our reliance on drugs has become way out of hand. In light of these numbers, I am obliged to confirm Paul Pilzer’s conclusion that of the millions of individuals on “maintenance drugs,” few should be taking them “for life.” Rather, these individuals should be working with competent health professionals to improve their diet and lifestyle to address and overcome the underlying causes of their condition, whenever it is possible to do so.

GETTING TO CAUSES, AND TO LASTING SOLUTIONS

In upcoming posts, I will outline some of the key causes that have made conditions such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer nearly synonymous with living in the West, or in Western-style nations. But as daunting as they may seem, these problems have solutions. Through research and time-tested evidence, we have the knowledge today to affect powerfully the prevention of many of these diseases and conditions. If we fail to use this knowledge, we will have made poor use not only of decades of diligent research, but also of our own ability to affect positively and benevolently the state of our health and consequently, the course of our lives.

NOTES

(1) US Prescription Drug Trends

(2) UK Prescription Drug Statistics for Seniors

(3) Pilzer, Paul Zane – From the article, “A Perfect Storm.” Success from Home (Magazine) Vol1, Issue 6.

[Via http://thepreventionrevolution.com]

Our right to choose Natural Health Products may be gone this April

2010-01-22T23:28:00.000+02:00

In 1998 the Canadian government and Natural Health Products industry put out a report, “Natural Health Products: A Shared Vision”. NHP’s were neither food nor drugs, and so required a separate framework. The Health Food industry worked hard to comply with these standards for their license. 41,000 applications were sent in, and to date, 6 years later, 16,000 have been approved.

The government was not ready for the task. They didn’t understand the complexity of the products and had no initial training in how to test and license the ‘mixed ingredients’ products. So, they were backlogged and way, way behind.

Problem is, those product licenses end this April. And the government won’t change the process.

What does that mean to you?

Your choices will be cut to 1/3 of what is available on shelves now. Potentially hundreds if not thousands of people will be unemployed, store shelves will be bare, and another viable, growing industry (28%/year) will be curtailed.

What can you do?

Please sign the e-card provided on this site: Save Our Natural Health Products and get it to your politician ASAP!

Link to find your MP: My MP’s info

Natural Voice blog has good audio to help inform you of this John Harrison is especially informative.

[Via http://thebarbwire.wordpress.com]

The Lovely Bones (spoiler warning)

2010-01-22T07:29:00.000+02:00

I enjoyed The Lovely Bones! It was better than I expected it to be. Like most Peter Jackson films, it felt a bit long in places, especially when you were waiting an extra ten seconds to see what you already knew was going to happen, but perhaps the fact that I felt the suspense is a positive thing. Also, there was enough of the unexpected and/or uncertain to keep me curious.

The fact that it’s set in the 70s definitely runs in it’s favour. It makes the film artistically interesting and somewhat unique. It seems that most films set in the 70s were either A) made in the 70s or B) about drugs, so The Lovely Bones is somewhat refreshing in this regard.

I was a little bit disappointed by the resolution, being somewhat more inclined toward seeing justice done in the legal sense rather than the “what goes around comes around” sense myself. But that’s just my taste. But it was good to at least see something happen to him.

Anyway I think that’s about all I have to say. It’s worth your money, in case you were wondering. If you wait for it on DVD, then ok, but do make sure you see it!

[Via http://tommo39.wordpress.com]

Weston Price; The great heart of Morpheus; Mordor Goblins vs. Shire Hobbits; transdermal drugs

2010-01-20T23:21:00.000+02:00

A random collection of topics.

I’m reading the Weston Price book pretty quickly. I’m about halfway through. I am totally convinced. It’s true that in modern culture, there is something that causes facial deformities and dental deformities. Weston Price focused on the lack of nutrients, but I also suspect the presence of something harmful. In other words, we are lacking something we need, and we are also not protecting ourselves against something harmful. The worst deformities occur with pregnant mothers eating nothing but canned food and white bread. Their children are born with nostrils and sinuses so small that they cannot breathe through their noses, and they become mouth-breathers who probably have sleep apnea as well. I think that heavy metal poisoning might be involved. Cans are made of tin or aluminum or other metals, and that metal gets into the food. Tin is called a ‘metalloestrogen,’ a metal that behaves like the estrogen hormone. I think aluminum might be a metalloestrogen, too.

I haven’t gotten to this chapter yet, but he’s going to talk about the MORAL damage that results from the brain deformities and also, in my opinion, from a Feingold-Diet type of temporary effect that happens immediately if you eat foods full of chemicals, artificial colors, etc, which causes you to become hyper, restless, aggressive, and unable to resist impulses, but only temporarily after eating the food. In the primitive cultures that had healthy, normally shaped faces, the people were also good-natured and happy, and they did not become criminals or sick people with chronic fatigue, depression, and other health problems.

I watched The Matrix again, since I now have my laptop back and it’s got a DVD player. Whenever I watch movies I sometimes have with me another person talking in whispers. They point things out that I didn’t notice before. I never noticed this one incident that happened with Morpheus. I’ve been looking around to learn how to recognize the enneagram type Eight. Morpheus is probably an Eight. Part of the description of healthy type Eight is the strength of their love, a feeling of greatness and largeness in the heart, a feeling of protecting themselves and others with their love, and I was calling this the ‘great heart’ feeling. I don’t recall the exact words they used in the enneagram book, but it was something like that.

So there is a scene where they’ve just gone to see the Oracle for Neo, and they’re running away from the agents. They climbed into the wall, and then Cypher starts coughing because a bunch of dust went in his face. So the agents start shooting into the walls.

At that moment, I heard the whisper voice say ‘I’m not gonna laugh,’ which is one of their frequently used phrases. Sometimes, that means, ‘I’m gonna cry.’ They called my attention to Morpheus and the noise that he made just before he bashed his head through the wall to attack the agents and defend Neo. He makes this loud howl noise, like ‘OAHHHHHHHH!,’ and I almost laugh when I think of it, and you could make fun of it, but in reality, it’s like he’s going to cry, because they’re attacking Neo and he loves Neo and he will do anything to protect him. It’s this powerful expression of feeling so strong, it’s like the feeling itself breaks through the wall as he attacks the agents. I never noticed this before while watching the movie – it was something they called my attention to. It made him seem like a real person in a real situation, like this was something that had actually happened.

I also couldn’t help noticing the huge numbers of people with narrow faces instead of broad faces. I wonder how many of them had to get orthodontic braces, like I did, because their teeth were crowded into the wrong positions. This problem is EVERYWHERE, and now that I know how to see it, I can’t help seeing it. Neo himself, the hero of the movie, has the narrow face. We tolerate seeing the narrow face deformities better than we tolerate the morbid obesity deformity. Morbid obesity hasn’t become normal yet, and we’re not seeing it on our movies and televisions, but the narrow face deformity is so common and has been around for so long it’s viewed as normal. Morbid obesity didn’t exist when Weston Price was studying modern deformities. Obesity is just another deformity that you get through no fault of your own, caused by poisons and malnutrition during pregnancy and infancy, and made worse by drugs that people are using in adulthood, such as psychiatric drugs. Based on what I have read, the worst thing you can do is give babies soy milk formula – this might be what causes severe obesity. I don’t know all of the specific causes yet – however, I know enough to be ABSOLUTELY SURE that obesity is NOT YOUR FAULT. It’s just another permanent deformity, like thalidomide babies born without arms and legs. It’s a horrible deformity caused by poisons and malnutrition in modern culture, which you were exposed to in the womb and in early infancy – something to be angry about, instead of something to feel guilty about. If you are obese, you are the victim of modern culture’s ignorance about how to nourish and protect pregnant women so that they get nutrients they need and are protected against poisons.

Mordor goblins and shire hobbits: The Shire is the example of a healthy primitive people with large, round faces. In the movie you see them in a primitive marketplace and somebody’s pulling along a pig on a leash – I remember that scene – they don’t tell you the exact details of their agricultural economy, but you get the impression that they are using simple, basic foods including both meats and plants. (I am somewhat uncomfortable even using the word ‘pig’ even if I’m trying to talk about a real pig because I always hear voices calling police officers ‘pigs,’ and using offensive pig images, when I myself don’t use that word.) Then, later in the trilogy, you see lots of Mordor goblins, and they have the unhealthy-looking, ugly, narrow, deformed faces and irregular teeth. However, they eat raw meat. It isn’t just a lack of meat in the diet, or a lack of nutrients, that makes the goblins look unhealthy and have violent, antisocial behavior and constant fighting and arguing. I think that maybe the goblins are exposed to chemicals in the Mordor mining operations, like heavy metals and other poisons, which are giving them deformities and antisocial behavior. If I recall, the goblins were more peaceful whenever they lived in the mountains and hadn’t yet been brought to work as Mordor slaves. I’d have to read the book again to find out – I could be remembering wrong. I just vaguely remember that the goblins weren’t always as bad as they are now.

Moviemakers use stereotypes about how people look. I’m starting to think that there is some truth to these stereotypes, that certain types of ‘ugliness’ are associated with overall ill health and criminal behavior and violence. I want to be very cautious about saying that – I don’t want people to start getting judgmental and going around looking for ugly people and assuming that they’re criminals. A fellow sufferer (electronic harassment), AJH at http://tiworld.blogspot.com/

, is always noticing people with the weak chin deformity and other facial deformities, and he strongly dislikes seeing these people. My theory is that the deformities of the face are connected with deformities inside the brain. This is known to be true with fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetal alcohol syndrome creates faces with specific deformities. If the visible deformities are severe, then the brain damage is also severe. If the deformities are mild, then the brain damage is mild. You can tell how badly damaged a fetal alcohol syndrome person is by looking at their face and seeing how many of the deformities they have. I know somebody with FAS and he doesn’t look like the picture I saw of a person with severe deformities, so his must be a milder case.

I want to be careful talking about the facial deformities and how they might connect with brain deformities, because I don’t want people jumping to conclusions and distrusting everybody just because they have a weak chin or something like that. I don’t know the details of which types of facial deformities are associated with which types of brain deformities.

My feeling about this is that it’s good news, not bad news. I’m happy to know this. What if we didn’t know it? What if it was only heredity? You just have bad luck because your mom and dad had bad DNA, and there’s no hope for you or your children at all. Instead, we found out that these deformities are preventable, something we DO have control over. You’re not just unlucky, and you don’t just have bad DNA. It’s something that you can prevent, if you avoid certain poisons, and provide certain nutrients, to pregnant mothers. (I’m still using the concept ‘Nourish And Protect’ as my mental framework – the protective figure and the nurturing figure.) I don’t know enough detail about what kinds of problems can be caused by unhealthy sperm – I know more about the problems that happen if you poison or malnourish a developing embryo. However, Weston Price says that the primitive cultures often gave a special diet to the men, too, if they were planning to become fathers, so they were trying to prevent problems with the sperm as well. Anyway, this is all very good news, not bad news. It means we have control over it.

Weston Price mentioned a transdermal drug incident. An Australian Aborigine was going to wet nurse an orphaned child. This was a grandmother, an older woman, who didn’t have breast milk, and she was going to wet nurse this baby. So she collected insects that lived on a particular tree. She crushed the insects into a paste, and rubbed the paste directly onto her breasts. Within a short time, the breasts were producing milk. I don’t know which was more important, the insects themselves, or the tree that they came from. I’ve read about fenugreek and other herbs used to stimulate lactation. I didn’t know how long it would take to trigger the lactation. From the anecdote, it sounded like it happened very quickly within only a couple of hours. I am also interested in male lactation, something which has been talked about in anecdotes, but isn’t familiar to modern western culture. I think it will probably work the same way.

Sometime last year, I remember an incident where I myself reacted very strongly to a microdose transdermal exposure to fenugreek, when I picked up the bottle off the shelf and held it in my hand and looked at it, without even opening the bottle, and within a few minutes, I felt sexually aroused, and also nauseated and sick in an unpleasant way (the oxytocin hormone, the sexual bonding hormone, makes you feel nauseated and sick – it’s called ‘lovesick,’ I think, or at least that’s how I interpret the word ‘lovesick’) – however, this was dangerous, because the nauseated feeling became very unpleasant, and it transformed into the suicidal feeling. So fenugreek might be dangerous enough to trigger suicide. I recognized the suicide sensation, and I know myself well enough by now, and I recognize drug reactions, so I am able to protect myself whenever something like that happens. I learned the hard way about drugs that cause people to feel suicidal. It’s a physical sensation, an unbearable discomfort, and with me, it’s connected with nausea and stomach sickness. When I got home, I washed my hands thoroughly. Modern western medicine doesn’t know anything at all about transdermal drug absorption or about the strong effects of very small dosages. I want more people to know about this. Suicide and homicide are caused by drugs, and it can even happen with very small dosages. Modern western medicine is ignorant about so many things that are very, very important to know.

I have to do what I came here for: answer some email responses to my ad calling for household help. I wish I could hire everyone who responded. But instead of doing that, I am going to write ads to start a social group where I DON’T pay money to people – they join me because they agree with me. It’s an urge to connect with a large group of people and get them all to do something that I need to get done, which fits with the ‘So/Sp’ theory of my instinctual stacking. I forgot to mention that on the webpage where I’ve been reading about that, ocean-moonshine.net (you have to google that URL – it has an error), they described the ‘motives’ of all the other instinctual stackings EXCEPT FOR the socials. They described motives for the sx/sp (to know the heart, reconcile inner conflicts, etc), sx/so (to have an impact), sp/so, sp/sx, but didn’t say anything about the motives of the so/sp and so/sx. – Wait… Yes they did, it just wasn’t written on a separate line. Okay, it’s just written in the same paragraph, I made a mistake. ‘To attain status within their chosen sphere – the “social climber.”‘ That makes it sound so shallow.

What I experience is a desire to be treated with respect. If I say something, I want people to listen to me, to believe me, to take me seriously, and to do the things that I tell them to do, because I believe that I have special knowledge that a lot of other people don’t have, knowledge that they need and that we all need, for instance about medicine. In the workplace, people don’t have to agree with everything, but I just want to feel like my opinions are AT LEAST being listened to and respected, even if they can’t change their policies.

(For instance, I want them to stop the practice of ending prices with 9 – it’s deceptive and discourteous to the customer – Dollar General Store I found out uses round-number pricing, so I enjoy shopping at Dollar General. They don’t price things at $0.99 at Dollar General. It will be exactly $1.00, or exactly $0.50, etc. I know DG is not trying to trick me, confuse me, manipulate me, and make it harder for me to mentally calculate how much I’m spending, and hard to remember how much something cost, since my short-term memory is unreliable and I can’t remember how much I spent unless I write it down, so I’ll accidentally spend more money than I wanted to because I forgot what the total was, since I had to mentally estimate everything and round it up or down and get myself confused.)

If I get frustrated with my workplace, and I want to start my own business because they refuse to change their policies and do things the way I wish they would (they told us to put the labels on fried chicken facing away from the customer, so that customers have to turn the bags around to see how much it costs, and I think the labels should face forward and be easy to read), it isn’t because I want to be a ’social climber,’ quote unquote. It’s just that I want to have some control over how things are done. My motivation is to get into a position where I am able to control the things that I want to have control over, in the social sphere.

So calling it a ’social climber’ just doesn’t really describe what I experience, from my point of view. I’m not trying to climb up to the top and say, ‘Ha ha, I’m cooler than you are!’ I would want to get into a higher social position so that I don’t have to constantly battle and argue with people over every trivial little detail of every little policy that I disagree with, and I want to just do it my way and get it over with quickly and efficiently. (I don’t have time to write about this, but I’ll mention the book Watership Down, where the rabbits decide to leave the old colony partly because they are frustrated with the existing social order.) I don’t describe that as ’social climbing.’ It’s not Esme Squalor from Lemony Snicket’s books, going along with every fad and doing things because they’re ‘in.’ And it’s not like a psychopathic manipulator who abandons and betrays all their old friends because the old friends aren’t ‘cool’ enough. There are all these really negative stereotypes of a ’social climber.’

Okay, I’m supposed to check my email, I have to do that before I get disconnected.

[Via http://retmeishka.wordpress.com]

anthony bourdain... cocaine

2010-01-20T15:05:00.000+02:00

Okay I watch a lot of TV. But Anthony Bourdain is one of my favorite shows in the universe. Saw this clip on his recent visit to Panama and I am always fascinated by what he decides to put on his show. I obviously had a lot more questions about cocaine after this clip than I ever did in my entire life. Seriously, this would never happen on Food Network so I am super glad that he’s on the Travel Channel. Anthony Bourdain – No Reservations is so much more than just a food show.

[Via http://flowkery.wordpress.com]

Raw

2010-01-18T15:13:00.000+02:00

My husband told me he feels like he is living with two people: one who loves him and cares about him and one who hates him.

I guess I feel the same way sometimes. I feel like he hates me when he gets high and turns his phone off. But I know he loves me… because I am sitting in a warm house with food that he works very hard to pay for.

And I love my husband. It is cocaine I hate. It has made my heart as raw and tender as his sinuses. It has cost me more than just cash, it cost me the most valuable thing I had in life: feeling safe and protected with the man I married… knowing that nothing could go wrong as long as he was with me. I thought I knew him completely, only to find out there was so much I didn’t know. Life was not perfect before cocaine, but I miss it. Cocaine has stolen a lot from both of us… it has taken our laughter, our thoughts, our worries, our sleep, our peace of mind and our affection for each other.

Every relapse fills me with emptiness… and puts me right back in time to a place I do not want to go. I have had rages that have ruined our door frames and a few inanimate objects. I have had crying jags over nothing, out of nowhere.

I have felt both numb and suicidal. I have actually cut myself. My right arm looks horrible. I probably need help too. I have a lot of the symptoms of PTSD.

The last relapse just upset me so badly I have been having horrible nightmares. I just cannot sleep… and when I do I am very jumpy… he says lay off the coffee, but I have never been this way before… so depressed and distracted and anxious. I do not like the paranoid person I have become. I live wondering when and if it will ever really be OVER… and if not, how long can I do this? Or more importantly, HOW CAN I FIX IT? Unfortunately, I can’t fix it and I know it.

I look at my hand and the absence of that ring perfectly reflects how I feel. I look at our wedding picture and wonder what happened to those kids? They had so much promise and love for each other. I wish I could just go back in time and talk to them for five minutes. A lot changes in 23 years. A lot. But real love doesn’t change… it may ebb and flow, but it never goes away. I look at the groom in that wedding picture and miss him. I look at the bride and blame her. I can’t help it.

I try not to be suspicious of him. He is going to NA meetings of his own free will. I honestly believe THIS TIME he “gets” what it is doing to him and his family. But this morning we had an argument and I was certain I had just pushed him right back into using. I was honestly afraid to call him… afraid of him having his phone off or hearing his voice and knowing I was right. So I guess that is where I am at. Waiting on the other shoe to drop and praying it won’t.

I feel responsible for the argument… I feel responsible for a lot of it… I have taken out my frustration on him, when it isn’t HIM I am angry at. It is the situation. I want him to be happy. I want him to hate cocaine too. I want those rings back on our hands for all the right reasons.

[Via http://cocainewidow.wordpress.com]

The ones who actually try, are the only ones worth keeping around.

2010-01-18T07:40:00.000+02:00

Last night was an eye opener for me. Realizations come at random times. I went out to party and ended the night with the hardest hitting epiphany I’ve had.

I’m done. I have no interest in raving anymore. The scene is dirty, drug filled and time consuming. The Haiti incident is the equivalent of 1 night of raving. I love the people. I love the music. I hate the scene. I can’t do it again.

Special D was amazing, I’ve been wanting to see him for years, and I finally did, and I am happy. Now I can close the book and say fuck the scene until I’m rich and can throw my own shitty parties.

No more all nighters, no more binges. I won’t feed reason to an unjustified cause. Its an escape. I’m tired of escaping. I’m tired of running from my problems and hiding behind bright lights, loud music, and pills.

I start school Tuesday. I can’t wait, I really can’t. Its going to be the fresh start I need. An excuse to disappear from everyone. I just need to figure out my living situation, thats the most important part. Once I have a place to live I can find work close to it and keep up in school. I’ll be fine. I just can’t do this anymore. I drag myself down to the level of bullshit excuses for why I’m fucking up, when really I’m the cause. I’m the reason my life is the way it is. Yeah, other people might have influenced my decisions, but I pulled the trigger on a lot of it.

Its time for a clean slate. Solidarity on the inside. Its time for me to prove I’m not a useless peon. I have a purpose. I have dreams. I have goals. I have drive. I am me.

[Via http://inrc.wordpress.com]

Iran says US, UK, Canada assist Afghan drug trade

2010-01-15T15:34:00.000+02:00

Iran says US, UK, Canada assist Afghan drug trade

Press TV

January 14, 2010

A senior Iranian anti-drug official has accused the US, Britain and Canada of playing a major role in Afghanistan’s lucrative drug trade.

On the sidelines of an anti-drug conference in Tehran, deputy head of Iran’s Drug Control Headquarters Taha Taheri said that Western powers are aiding the drug trade in Afghanistan.

“According to our indisputable information, the presence of the United States, Britain and Canada has not reduced the dug trade and the three countries have had major roles in the distribution of drugs,” IRIB quoted Taheri as saying on Thursday.

Iranian officials have always criticized Western countries over their policies towards Afghanistan, where poppy cultivation has drastically increased since the US-led military occupation of the country in 2001.

Taheri added that drug catalysts are being smuggled into Afghanistan through borders that are controlled by US, British and Canadian troops.

Some 13,000 tones of drug catalysts are brought into Afghanistan every year as the war-torn country is the producer of 90 percent of the world’s opium.

The UN office on drugs and crime said last month that the 2009 potential gross export value of opium from Afghanistan stood at $2.8 billion.

Iranian police officials maintain that drug production in Afghanistan has had a 40-fold increase since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.

“More than 340 tones of drugs have been seized all over Iran in the past nine months,” IRNA quoted the commander of the drug squad, General Hamid Reza Hossein-Abadi, as saying earlier this month.

The UN has praised Tehran for its commitment to the fight against drug trafficking.

[Via http://noworldsystem.com]

So forgetful

2010-01-15T07:04:00.000+02:00

I swear, I’d lose my head if it wasn’t screwed on tight.

At one point in my life I was obscenely organised and punctual. Now I get into these spirals where time doesn’t make sense.

Because there wasn’t structure during my winter break I spent a lot of time sleeping and doing nothing in particular. I could swear I had another set of prescriptions and had dropped them off at the pharmacy. All I had to do was go pick them up when I was out. The pharmacy is open 24 hours and is at a major hub of all my travels, so it was idiot proof, right? Right up until none of that actually happening.

It’s not like I hallucinated it, I think I just forgot to ask the doctor to write a new one. I had just dropped one off two days prior – some how a month later all that blended into one.

It’s not the end of the world, I called the office an another doctor will write me one. It’s just concerning that I’ve changed so much. On top of this, I’ve also managed to forget to get blood work done to test the drug levels so they can be adjusted to therapeutic levels. It’s having a negative effect on my treatment.

I’ve started using a day timer. I managed to find work and have taken on a student to tutor in math, so I’m going to need all the help I can get. Here’s hoping I can turn my retarded ass around.

Oh, I’ve lost 3 lbs since new years – shit’s going to be alright.

[Via http://bittercupgonemad.wordpress.com]

UN Security Council Takes a New and Welcome Approach to Drugs Trade

2010-01-13T15:18:00.000+02:00

Rather belatedly, I’d like to point readers to an excellent brief by James Cockayne of the International Peace Institute on last month’s UN Security Council presidential statement on global drugs trafficking. Cockayne calls it a “milestone in the global drug control debate, and a turning point in the world body’s approach to the issue.” He writes:

The presidential statement – a political pronouncement by the Council falling short of a binding resolution, but agreed unanimously by its fifteen members – constitutes the first coherent political commitment by the Security Council to tackle the world drug problem based on “common and shared responsibility.” This is code for the idea that demand reduction is as important as reduction of supply. The statement sends a signal that even if the major security implications of drug trafficking fall on production and transit states in the global South, consuming states in the global North also have responsibilities in tackling the trade. While the Council has previously made similar noises in relation to drug trafficking in specific countries such as Afghanistan and Guinea-Bissau, and even the region of West Africa, this is the first time it has ever made such a commitment on a global scale.

UNODC head Antonio Maria Costa focused on trends in the Sahara/Sahel in his address to the Security Council prior to the statement’s release, arguing for greater regional action:

He described how cocaine trafficking from the West and heroin from the East are creating instability and spreading addiction. He said that “we have acquired evidence that the two streams of illicit drugs – heroin into Eastern Africa and cocaine into West Africa – are now meeting in the Sahara, creating new trafficking routes across Chad, Niger and Mali.” He warned that, like in the Andean countries and in West Asia, “terrorists and anti-Government forces in the Sahel extract resources from the drug trade to fund their operations, purchase equipment and pay foot-soldiers.” He also said that drug trafficking in the region is taking on a whole new dimension – becoming larger, faster and more high-tech.

He urged Member States to create a trans-Saharan crime monitoring network to improve information, monitor suspicious activity, exchange evidence, facilitate legal cooperation and strengthen regional efforts against organized crime.

But as Cockayne points out, one of the more impressive aspects of the presidential statement is its call for greater trans-regional action, in particular greater cooperation between Latin America, West Africa and Europe to tackle the drugs trade and associated ills still rapidly expanding in West Africa. In a further nod to supra-regional collaboration, he notes that international efforts to deal with Somali piracy may be instructive in devising new counter-strategies in other regions of Africa.

Finally, Cockayne breaks down the real significance of the statement in practical terms. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years, but anything that promotes the consideration of drug trafficking within conflict management has to be taken as a hopeful sign.

[T]he Council “invites the Secretary-General to consider mainstreaming the issue of drug trafficking as a factor in conflict prevention strategies, conflict analysis, integrated missions’ assessment and planning and peacebuilding support.” Cutting through the bureaucratic jargon, what this signals is that in future the UN Secretariat will not need to seek a specific mandate from the Security Council to consider drug trafficking in designing and planning field missions.

Instead, the UN Secretariat is now empowered to consider drug trafficking as a potential amplifier of insecurity around the world – and then to work through a range of demand-side and supply-side approaches to support the efforts of states, civil society and sub-regional and regional bodies to tackle the problem.

[Via http://crimeconflictnexus.wordpress.com]

Some Old School Pics

2010-01-13T03:02:00.000+02:00

A secret (that’s not so secret) about me is that I used to sell and do drugs. Like something heavy. And this first picture I took at one of those party spots I used to frequent. It’s a glass chess board that we used to blow mountains on. A few people I used to know may remember those days too when they look at this picture. Whatever it means for them, it represents my next move.

In yet another life I worked for FEMA during Charlie, Francis, Ivan, Rita and Katrina.

For what ever reason you have to bitch about FEMA, I’m sorry and I may even agree with you. But, this isn’t about that.

I don’t have much left from those days, except a heavy case of PTSD and these pictures. Those scenes were as common as every time I blinked. Usually accompanied by sobbing owners or rifle clad National Guardsmen. Not necessarily a good time in my life but I learned more about people in those short years than any other time.

These are a sombre reminder for me of the places I’ve been and the reasons why I can’t go back.

-CK

[Via http://ckliar.com]

Government control of our lives, Health Care Bill, Larry Sinclair, Social Security Administration, Obama, Biden, Barack Obama & Larry Sinclair: Cocaine, Sex, Lies & Murder, We pay, They control

2010-01-11T14:57:00.000+02:00

“There’s something happening here

What it is ain’t exactly clear

There’s a man with a gun over there

Telling me I got to beware”

“Paranoia strikes deep

Into your life it will creep

It starts when you’re always afraid

You step out of line,

the man come and take you away”… “For what it’s worth” Buffalo Springfield

Larry Sinclair is being controlled by the Social Security Administration again. Even if Sinclair was not a threat to the Obama Administration, he would still be at the mercy of government bureaucrats. I know about this first hand and will report on this in the near future. This is the spectre of Government run health care. We pay and they control.

The paperback version of Larry Sinclair’s book is now available. Get your copy of only 1000 Signed/Numbered copies of the Paperback edition of “Barack Obama & Larry Sinclair: Cocaine, Sex, Lies & Murder.”

http://www.larrysinclair.com/

Perhaps some of you were more skeptical of Larry Sinclair’s story a year ago. Anyone paying attention should find Sinclair’s story very plausible now.

Here is Larry Sinclair’s latest encounter with the Social Security Administration.

“Social Security Administration used again to Harass & Intimidate Larry Sinclair: Instant Replay of Joe Biden’s Abuse of Office and mis-use of SSA in 2008.

I have been ill for the past few days and only today felt well enough to go check my mail. In my mail box was a letter from Alvin L. Crummell, District Manager for Social Security Administration.

I have been ordered to appear at the Social Security Office “before January 14, 2010…” for, “…We need to review your SSI record in order to determine that you continue to be eligible to receive benefits.”

I will appear at the office tomorrow, January 11, 2010 (the letter is dated January 8, 2010) with camera and digital voice recorder in hand. I will record the entire meeting which I have every right to do (and will do so for my own protection.)

I believe it is interesting that Social Security wants to now “review” the record when my physical condition has continued to worsen because Medicaid and University of Florida/Shands Jacksonville refuse to perform procedures requested by Doctors.

This “review” and letter is nothing more than an attempt to harass and intimidate me because I refuse to shut up and continue to push Barack Obama to come clean. This never ending harassment by the White House, DCCC and Obama idiots would have made a weaker person go postal already. Well the continued picking at this sore is only going to cause it to fester until the puss explodes. Keep picking!

These continued tactics for more than 2 years now should make people finally realize, I Larry Sinclair have been telling the TRUTH all along and the Obama administration and the DCCC know it.

I will be sending a fax to Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Rahm Emmanuel and David Axelrod at the White House tomorrow making it clear I will devote every minute of my life to destroying Barack Obama if these back door tactics are not stopped immediately and the gutless, lying coward does not man up and either admit or deny my claims against him. I have already called Rahm Emmanuel’s office at 202-456-6798 and will do so when he is in tomorrow to make it clear to him I will not be threatened, harassed or intimidated any longer by the White House and its cowardly lions. Feel free to contact these Chicago Thugs and call them out. Barack Obama and Michelle Obama know the contents of, “Barack Obama & Larry Sinclair: Cocaine, Sex, Lies & Murder” are true and that is the only reason Obama and his funky flunkies Axelrod, Emmanuel, Biden and others continue to illegally use the IRS, Social Security and other agencies to continue to come after me. They failed with their false claim of Blackmail during the campaign, they failed when then Senator Biden made false statements to SSA in June of 2008, and they will fail this time as well.”

Read more from Larry Sinclair:

http://www.larrysinclair.com/

[Via http://citizenwells.wordpress.com]

Gay marriage. It's about time we get over it.

2010-01-11T07:14:00.000+02:00

Gay marriage. Once again for the millionth time it’s in the news. But why? Aren’t we over this by now?

Lets look at the arguments.

1. Marriage is sacred. Really? Come on, with all the reality shows where straight people get married, the divorce rate and all those things the idea that heterosexual marriage is sacred and it somehow disgraces it is ridiculous.

2. God is not for it and marriage is based in religion. I’ll be honest and admit I used to think this. BUT, we can not force our religious ideals on others. So when it comes to a pastor doing a gay marriage that is for the pastor and the church body he is a part of to make that call. In other words the individual and than individual group must decide this on their own. We have no right to say others must follow the same religious beliefs or tenants that we do.

3. I (the person saying it) just don’t like gays. (insert your own slur here) This is simple to debunk. Its based only in hate. No real reason for it at all.

4. What else is there? I can’t think of anything.

So what does all this mean? We so often forget that to protect our own rights we have to protect those of others. Even if we don’t agree with them. The key here? As long as it does not hurt anyone, or infringe on some else’s rights. So, do I think it is right to say I can’t pray in public. No. I’m not hurting you. Ignore me, leave me alone, give me basic respect and don’t bother me. And I won’t tell you that you have to pray. You may chose not to. That is fine.

Really this is the same thing. Who is hurt by gay marriage? No one. It should be equal. They should have the same standard of proof and responsibility as straights people. Still have to get divorced if it does not work out, and still get the same benefits as any other straight couple who has taken the proper steps to say “Yes, we love each other and are in a committed relationship with each other.”

I feel there is a big difference between two people living together and two people who are married. By getting married you make it official. You make it harder to just end and harder to just walk away from. You are taking it up to a much more serious level. Any one, gay or straight if they really do love each other should be able to take this public/private/legal step and get married. We can not and should not force consenting adults who are hurting no one, ever, do follow what we think is right, or wrong simple because it is different from our opinion. I don’t want people telling me what I can do in my life and in order to protect my rights I am willing to protect the rights of others. I hope you will too.

[Via http://punkcurmudgeonredux.wordpress.com]

Bizarro-bama

2010-01-08T23:38:00.000+02:00

What would the Bizarro counterpart (see Superboy #68, 1957 -ed.) of our commander in chief look like? I think this artist rendering in the front door of La Rondalla answers that question.

Note how the artist managed to convey polished chrome features without the use of color. The hand-rendered lens flare effect is very refreshing a post-Photoshop world. Also, the intentional facial asymmetry of the subject allows us to reflect on our own imperfections and embrace them.

Perhaps most amazingly, the piece is dated 6-11-80. This artist was clearly far ahead of his time. I am glad this masterpiece has been carefully preserved in a quality binder sleeve for future generations to enjoy.

[Via http://missionmission.wordpress.com]

Woman files $1.5 million claim against San Bernardino County DA

2010-01-08T07:48:00.000+02:00

A Redlands woman whose sexual harassment complaint against San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos triggered an investigation is seeking $1.5 million in a claim filed Wednesday.

Cheryl Ristow, an investigative technician with the district attorney’s office, states that she was involved in a 17-month intimate relationship with Ramos that ended in 2005. She claims that she was retaliated against starting in May when it appeared that the affair would be publicly revealed, and has been on stress leave since July as a result.

Ramos issued a brief statement Thursday denying the allegations.

“I continue to vigorously deny these false and politically-motivated accusations and look forward to the truth coming out in a court of law,” he said.

In a phone interview Thursday, Ristow said, “I stand behind my story 100 percent.”

The county began an internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation in August when an employee in the office came forward with a complaint against Ramos. Ristow’s claim identifies herself as the person who came forward with the complaint.

Ristow said in the claim that she and Ramos continued a distant working relationship when the personal relationship ended. That changed in May, she said, when Ramos told her that news of the affair was going to appear in a newspaper article that accused him of multiple affairs.

A month later, Ristow said, she received disciplinary write-ups for “things in the past that were trivial” by a supervisor whom she had asked for advice on the situation.

Ristow also states that around June or July, a senior investigator for the district attorney told her that if she came forward, she would “tank” the office’s case against former Assistant Assessor Jim Erwin.

Erwin is among five former assessor’s officials, including ex-Assessor Bill Postmus, who are facing criminal charges as part of the district attorney’s office’s political corruption probe.

In past statements, Ramos has claimed that the allegations against him are part of an effort to derail that investigation.

“I have no political motivation whatsoever,” Ristow responded in the Thursday interview.

In her claim, she accused Ramos of slander and defamation and said she has suffered physical and emotional trauma as a result of her treatment.

The county has 45 days to review the claim. If it is rejected, Ristow can sue.

Reach Imran Ghori at 951-368-9558 or ighori@PE.com

[Via http://bbvm.wordpress.com]

Thriller Author Vincent Zandri on Virtual Book Tour for Moonlight Falls February & March 2010

2010-01-06T23:53:00.000+02:00

Join Vincent Zandri, author of the thriller novel, Moonlight Falls (R.J. Buckley Publishing), as he virtually tours the blogosphere in February and March on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

Vincent Zandri

About Vincent Zandri

Vincent Zandri is an award-winning novelist, essayist and freelance photojournalist. His novel As Catch Can (Delacorte) was touted in two pre-publication articles by Publishers Weekly and was called “Brilliant” upon its publication by The New York Post. The Boston Herald attributed it as “The most arresting first crime novel to break into print this season.” Other novels include Godchild (Bantam/Dell) and Permanence (NPI). Translated into several languages including Japanese and the Dutch, Zandri’s novels have also been sought out by numerous major movie producers, including Heyday Productions and DreamWorks. Moonlight Falls is his fourth novel. He is the author of the blogs, Dangerous Dispatches and Embedded in Africa for RT ( Russia Today TV) which have been syndicated and translated in several different languages throughout the world. He also writes for other global publications, including Culture 11, Globalia, Globalspec and more. Zandri’s nonfiction has appeared in New York Newsday, Hudson Valley Magazine, Game and Fish Magazine and others, while his essays and short fiction have been featured in many journals including Fugue, Maryland Review and Orange Coast Magazine. He holds an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College and is a 2010 International Thrillerl. Writer’s Awards panel judge. Zandri currently divides his time between New York and Europe. He is the drummer for the Albany-based punk band to Blisterz. You can visit his website at www.vincentzandri.com or his blog at www.vincentzandri.blogspot.com.

Moonlight Falls by Vincent Zandri (click on cover to purchase at Amazon)

About Moonlight Falls

Moonlight Falls is the Albany, New York-based paranoid tale (in the Hitchcock tradition) of former APD Detective turned Private Investigator/Massage Therapist, Richard “Dick” Moonlight, who believes he might be responsible for the brutal slaying by knife of his illicit lover, the beautiful Scarlet Montana. The situation is made all the worse since Scarlet is the wife of Moonlight’s boss, Chief of Detectives Jake Montana.

Why does Moonlight believe he might be responsible?

He’s got a small fragment of a .22 hollow point round buried inside his brain, lodge directly up against his cerebral cortex. The result of a botched suicide attempt four years prior to the novel’s start, an operation to remove the bullt frag would be too dangerous.

But the bullet causes Moonlight lots of problems, the least of which are the occasional memory loss and his rational ability to tell right from wrong. The bullet frag also might shift at any moment, making coma and/or sudden death, a very real possibility.

Still, Moonlight has been trying to get his life together as of late.

But when Scarlet begs him to make the trip over to her house late one rainy Sunday night to issue one of his “massages,” he makes a big mistake by sleeping with her. Later, having passed out in her bed, he will be rudely awakened by a garage door opening and Jake’s unexpected and very drunken homecoming. Making his impromptu escape out a top floor window, Moonlight will seek the safety of his home.

Two hours later however, he will receive another unexpected visit from Jake Montana. This time the big Captain has sobering news to report. He’s discovered his wife’s mutilated body in her own bed. She’s been murdered and now he needs the P.I. to investigate it in association with Albany ’s “overtaxed” Special Independent Unit before I.A. pokes their nose into the affair. Moonlight takes a big step back. Is it possible he made a second trip to the Montana home-sweet-home and just has no recollection of it? Once there, did he perform a heinous crime on his part-time lover? Or is this some kind of set up by his former boss? Is it really Jake who is responsible for Scarlet’s death? Does he wish for Moonlight to cover up his involvement, seal the case before Internal Affairs starts poking their nose into the situation?

There’s another problem too.

Covering Moonlight’s palms and the pads of his fingers are numerous scratches and cuts. Are these defensive wounds? Wounds he received when Scarlet put up a struggle? Or are they offensive wounds? Wounds he couldn’t avoid when making his attack on Scarlet with a blade? The answer is not so simple since Moonlight has no idea where he acquired the wounds.

Having no choice but to take on the mission (if only to cover his own ass), Moonlight can only hope the answers to his many questions point to his former boss and not himself.

Read the Excerpt! Albany, New York

140 miles northeast of New York City

I’m escorted into a four-walled basement room by two suited

agents—one tall, slim and bearded, the other shorter, stockier, cleanshaven.

The space we occupy contains a one-way mirror which I know

from experience hides a tripod-mounted video camera, a sound man and

several FBI agents, the identities of whom are concealed. There’s no

furniture in the room, other than a long metal table and four metal

chairs. No wallpaper, no soft lamp light, no piped-in music. Just harsh

white overhead light, concrete and a funny worm smell.

As I enter the room for the first time, the tall agent tells me to

take a seat at the table.

“We appreciate your cooperation,” the stocky agent jumps in.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch my reflection in the mirror.

I’m of medium height. Not tall, not short. Not too badly put

together for having reached the big four-zero thanks to the cross-training

routine I put myself on not long after my hospital release. Nowadays, my

head is shaved. There’s a small button-sized scar behind my right earlobe

in the place where the fragment of .22 caliber hollow-point penetrated

the skull. I wear a black leather jacket over black jeans and lace-up

combat boots left over from my military service during the first Gulf

War. My eyeglasses are rectangular and retrofitted from a pair of cheap

sunglasses I picked up at a Penn Station kiosk. They make my stubblecovered

face seem slightly wider than it really is. So people have told me.

Having been led to my chair, I am then asked to focus my gaze

directly onto the mirror so that the video man or woman stationed on

the opposite side of the glass can adjust the shooting angle and focus.

“Please say something,” requests Stocky Agent while removing

his suit jacket, setting it over the back of an empty chair.

“There once was a cop from Nantucket ,” I say to break the ice.

But no one laughs.

“You get that?” the taller agent barks out to no one in particular.

“Okay to go,” comes a tinny, hidden speaker voice. “You gonna

finish that poem, Mr. Moonlight?”

“Knock it off,” Stocky Agent orders. Then turns back to me.

“Before we get started, can we get you a coffee? A cappuccino? You can

get one right out of the new machine upstairs.”

“Mind if I burn one?”

Tall Bearded Agent purses his lips, cocks his head in the

direction of a plastic No Smoking placard to the wall.

Stocky Agent makes a sour face, shakes his head, rolls up the

sleeves on his thick arms. He reaches across the heavy wood table, grabs

an ashtray, and clunks it down in front of me as if it were a bedpan.

“The rule doesn’t apply down here,” he says. Then, in this deep

affected voice, he adds, “Let’s get started, Mr. Moonlight. You already

know the routine. For now we just want to get to the bottom of the who,

what, wheres and hows of this train wreck.”

“You forgot the why,” I say, firing up a Marlboro Light. “You

need to know the why to establish an entire familiarity with any given

case.”

Stocky Agent does a double take, smiles. Like he knows I’m

fucking with him.

“Don’t be a dick, Dick,” he says.

I guess it’s important not to take life too seriously. He laughs. I

laugh. We all laugh. Ice officially broken. I exhale some smoke, sit back

in my chair.

They’re right, of course. I know the drill. I know it’s the truth

they’re after. The truth and almost nothing but the truth. But what they

also want is my perspective—my take on the entire Scarlet Montana

affair, from soup to peanuts. They want me to leave nothing out. I’ll start

with my on-again/off-again love affair with my boss’s wife. Maybe from

there I’ll move on to the dead bodies, my cut-up hands, the Saratoga

Springs Russians, the Psychic Fair, the heroin, the illegal organ harvesting

operation, the exhumations, the attempts on my life, the lies, deceptions

and fuck-overs galore.

As a former fulltime Albany detective, I know that nobody sees

the same thing through the same set of eyeballs. What’s important to one

person might appear insignificant or useless to another. What those

federal agents want right now inside the basement interview room is my

most reliable version of the truth—an accurate, objective truth that

separates fact from fantasy.

Theoretically speaking.

“Ask away,” I say, just as the buzzing starts up in the core of my

head.

“Just start at the beginning,” Stocky Agent requests. “We have

all night.”

Sitting up straight, I feel my right arm beginning to go numb on

me. So numb I drop the lit cigarette onto the table. The inside of my

head chimes like a belfry. Stocky Agent is staring at me from across the

table with these wide bug eyes like my skull and brains are about to pull a

JFK all over him.

But then, just as soon as it all starts, the chiming and the

paralysis subsides.

With a trembling hand, I manage to pick up the partially smoked

cigarette, exhale a very resigned, now smokeless breath and stamp the

cancer stick out.

“Everything you wanna know,” I whisper. “You want me to tell

you everything.”

“Everything you remember,” Tall Agent smiles. “If that’s at all

possible.”

Stocky Agent pulls a stick of gum from a pack in his pants

pocket, carefully unwraps the tin foil and folds the gum before stuffing it

into his mouth.

Juicy Fruit. I can smell it from all the way across the table.

By all indicators, it’s going to be a long night.

“I think I’ll take that cappuccino after all,” I say.

For the first time since entering the interview room, I feel the

muscles in my face constricting. I know without looking that my

expression has turned into something miles away from shiny happy. I’m

dead serious. Read what critics are saying about Moonlight Falls!

“Tough, hard-boiled noir delivered with the kind of fast-paced taut action that represents the best of the genre, Vince Zandri’s Moonlight Falls gives us the kind of protagonist series are built on. “Get your protagonist up a tree and throw rocks at him” is advice given to novelists from Day One: Zandri’s character Richard Moonlight isn’t up a tree; he’s up a Sequoia and those aren’t rocks being thrown at him—they’re boulders shot out of a cannon. It’s become a cliche to say “I couldn’t put it down,” but in this case, it applies. Not knowing if his next minute might be his last to draw breath—with a bullet fragment lodged in his brain, the artery wrapped around it prohibiting its removal—the tension builds to a fever-pitch as Moonlight is surrounded by enemies all determined to deal one of two outcomes for him—either his death or his arrest for the murder of his lover, and the journey to prove his innocence and the surprise ending will absolutely enthrall readers. Don’t begin reading this at night the day before you have to work unless you have a forgiving boss who won’t mind if you show up bleary-eyed from staying up all night to read it.”

–Les Edgerton, author of Monday’s Meal and the writing text, Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go.

Vincent Zandri’s MOONLIGHT FALLS VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ‘10 will officially begin on February 1st and end on March 26th. Please contact Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife@yahoo.com if you are interested in hosting and/or reviewing his book during his virtual book tour. Thank you!

[Via http://bookmarketingbuzz.com]

She not on Crack Bruh

2010-01-06T03:44:00.000+02:00

Welcome World

Who doesn’t like,love beautiful women’s.Regardless,if one is gay there is no denying

beauty when it is spotted.Now,i have seen some beautiful girl’s,in my life and i know those that

i have seen cannot be compared to the other hundred gorgeous or maybe even thousand’s more voluptuous woman

that i have not seen.She not on crack bruh,that’s a statement one will make around my way.

When,you knew a girl,that use look like Sanaa Lathan younger sister,to a yuck elp.

Ayo,this B@#%h on crack now.Hell,no brother this chick start messing with that piff and sour

heavy ya dig,she drinking like a fish nah,She like literally let her self go man.Yo,remember last summer Jane Doe

was the baddest girl on this block bruh.She had a Cherokee,Buffy The Body type ass.Shoot,look at

her behind now,she gotta white girl booty now lol.Manigg,i’ve seen a few white girl with a phatter ass than that.

She a straight up crack head,she look like a damn fiend man.She fell off,in high school you was the ish shorty

what the heck happen to you.Blame it on the liquor,blame it on the piff,don’t forget the cigarette

or what about the e.She my sister though,ya nigg’s mistreated her she had no one to look after her.

Nigg’s was getting her bodied everyday,she does not have a job,nor have any financial support.

SO,maybe it will be kind of difficult to keep herself well groom.Nigg please,your sister be copping dub’s

and thirty’s every other day.What am i to tell her,don’t my drug’s go out and buy something to eat instead,

and save your doe to buy yourself something nice to wear,Git.Brother i am trying to eat also,i have to

feed my kid’s.She need’s the drug’s,i need the doe more than you know.It is not my fault,your sister

looking like Amy Winehouse and ish.It isn’t my job,to give her advice this chick use to be on the

honor roll,now it’s a honor for her to roll some of that piff and sour.Live life bruh,dont let ‘em B@#$t’s

worry you fam,stop playing God.Even God ain’t keeping her away from the drug’s,but you wanna be Captain

Kirk all the sudden,i ain’t having that.So,she is not on crack.She just smoke and drink too much

she cant remain sober,she jumping in and out of rover’s for that doljah.

[Via http://yafeu.wordpress.com]

El-Rushbo is A-Okay (physically speaking)

2010-01-01T23:20:00.000+02:00

Gee, who’da thunk that an obese, cigar-smoking druggie would have heart problems? But that’s what a steady diet of haterade, hillbilly heroin and outrage will do for you, and a couple of days ago Rush was “rushed” to a Honolulu hospital (in a socialist ambulance) after experiencing the old telltale sign that the ticker is about to collapse under the weight of all that bile — chest pains. (Heart Attack in Honolulu — that could be a Tom Waits tune.)

Today his condition has been upgraded to “stable” and Rush says he’s “A-Okay” after undergoing a battery of tests and an angioplasty, and that’s all good. No, really. I won’t be one of the many who wish Rush ill –

Not I. It won’t be me who says “I hope he (or his doctor, or his heart) fails“, because that would be vicious, low and wrong, and on the first day of this dewy new year, I won’t do it.

What I will do is enjoy the calm as millions of jabbering dittoheads fall silent without Rush telling them what to think… the only thing that might break the golden silence would be if they decided to bitch about ‘liberals’ being nasty to Rush while he was hospitalized. But they’re not that dumb and desperate, are they?

[Via http://unrepentantoldhippie.wordpress.com]

Will You Live To See 2010?

2009-12-30T23:00:00.000+02:00

Today 31 Dec 2009 12.00 is goin to be a big day 4 al of us and night for some…I BEG THAT YOU THINK BEFORE YOU ACT ALWAYS!!!!! “Is what you are doing worth it? WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?(Seriously)” <<<< I wan’t those questions to be BRANDED into your mind. Life is NO GAME TRUST ME, Your life could END before you see 2010, …Wudnt tht be a WASTE!! I AIN’T passing no Judgement Best Believe dat. I am simply WARNING YOU AGAINST THROWING your LIFE AWAY, JUST BECAUSE OF ONE NIGHT, ONE STUPID NIGHT!!!!! “But I won’t Die 2day”-HOW do YOU KNOW DAT? “Its the in thing”-OPEN YOURS EYES, Believe it or NOT Its MIND CONTROL, Hu told u it was ite, wer dd they learn it from, dnt think u to good to be hypotised by tht crap, cos u are if u fall victim to … See Moreit. and Yes Booze, By Drinking it YOU R BECOMING ITS SLAVE(In Jesus You are not a slave to anythin/any1 you are free). Lyk I sed LIFE IS NO GAME, Heaven and Hell exist, wer Do you want to go? DNT JUST SAY Heaven, cos its the appropriate answer, If you are truly a Follower of THE CHRIST(The One who Died For You and Is God in The Flesh) Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Is it too little to ask for Good Behavior…Compare tht Good Behavior To Dying On The Cross For You…Will WE turn our backs on tht, or will EACH ONE OF US, THANK HIM for such Mercy. IT IS UP TO YOU!!! DON’T EVEN THINK OF JUST READING AND SAYING WOW…, I WANT YOU TO READ TO YOU HEART, And READ The WORD OF GOD(I Prefer this version, recent ones have IMPORTANT MISSING INFO: http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/1611_authorized_king_james.htm). Go Down On Your Knees and Pray, Dnt do it cos i sed so, Do It Cos You Love Him…http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/how_to_be_saved.html JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN “I am the way the truth and the life; NO MAN cometh unto the Father BUT BY ME.” — Jesus Christ (John 14:6)

[Via http://revolutionjc.wordpress.com]

Book Review: ‘The Drug User - Documents 1840-1960’

2009-12-30T15:03:00.000+02:00

The Drug User

Printed in 1991, ‘The Drug User: Documents 1840-1960’ is an anthology of drug-related literature that dates from before the beginnings of the psychedelic counterculture movement. Edited by John Strausbaugh and Donald Blaise, with a forward by William S. Burroughs, ‘The Drug User’ is filled with a literary flair so often missing from later psychedelic literature.

The anthology’s editors have amalgamated an extremely impressive collection. It includes both complete pieces and selected passages from larger works. Such diverse writers as Twain, Freud, Baudelaire and Daumal to Ludlow, Michaux and Lee, are presented. With such an eclectic mix of great writers and thinkers there is imbued some wonderful, challenging and, at times, scary perceptions of the drug experience.

One of my favourite passages is taken from ‘Really the Blues’ by “half-cat jazz musician” Mezz Mezzrow. Just before playing a gig Mezz and his compatriots smoked some cannabis:

“The other guys in the band were giggling and making cracks, but I couldn’t talk with my mouthpiece between my lips, so I closed my eyes and drifted out to the audience with my music. The people were going crazy over the subtle changes in our playing; they couldn’t dig what was happening but some kind of electricity was crackling in the air and it made them all glow and jump.”

There are also battles going on in the individuals; especially those writing on using opiates. Burroughs would later write on the topic succinctly in Junky but Antonin Artaud had already begun to surmise the dark power of opiates in his most literary of ways:

“We, whom pain makes journey into our souls in search of a calm place to cling to, in search of stability in evil, as the others search for it in good – we aren’t mad, we’re marvellous doctors, we know the necessary dose for the soul, for sensibility, for the marrow, for thought.”

The anthology challenges the reader to think about an individual’s relationship with drugs, from a time when the social hysteria had yet to emerge and cast its own shadow over the experience. Though, having said that, one can see the seeds for the psychedelic movement during this period in the writings of Aldous Huxley, Albert Hoffman and Gordon Wasson (it was Wasson who first discovered the ancient religious use of psilocybin mushrooms in Mexico.)

For those interested in the drug experience/culture as a literary movement this is an extremely valuable anthology. Not only is it a gateway into other works but it also beautifully contextualizes various perspectives. I’ll leave you with some words by Aldous Huxley, taken from ‘Drugs that shape men’s minds’ and that goes someway to explaining the course that the newly seeded psychedelic movement would pass into post-1960:

“My own belief is that, though they may start by being something of an embarrassment, these new mind changers will tend in the long run to deepen the spiritual life of the communities in which they are available.”

[Via http://psypressuk.wordpress.com]

Execution In China

2009-12-28T23:41:00.000+02:00

I am of course opposed to the Death Penalty. It is a logical extension of my Catholicism, Christianity…that we should be Life-Enhancing rather than Life Taking. Yet it is not easy to have any kinda sympathy for the drug courier who will possibly be executed in China tomorrow.

Of course he is not photogenic and is of Asian origin, therefore the British tabloids will not rush to his aid. Much better if “he” was a pretty blonde female schoolteacher from the Cotswolds and tearfully protesting that she was duped by her lover.

Sorry……no sympathy………if Britons, Irish, australians, Americans whatever want to take on high risk criminality smuggling drugs in or out of China, Thailand, wherever……then they should face the consequences.

[Via http://fitzjameshorse.wordpress.com]

It's a wonder he can walk at all

2009-12-28T15:00:00.000+02:00

kid in a candy store 40 years later

(Hugh Laurie as House, M.D.)

He’s got a real sweet tooth

Picture by: dunno source Caption by: Sarah101 via Our LOL Builder

» Recaption This!

» View All Captions

[Via http://roflrazzi.com]

Brittany Murphy was struggling with poor body image

2009-12-21T22:59:00.000+02:00

Since her passing yesterday from cardiac arrest, actress Brittany Murphy’s friends are beginning to speak out about her struggle with a poor body image.

Clueless director Amy Heckerling believes the problem may have originated from the set of their film:

“She seemed to go through a change on Clueless. Maybe she felt like she was not the, like, skinny, pretty girl, you know? And then the next few movies she was, you know, thinner, blonde … going out with Eminem and Ashton Kutcher.”

Another source said:

“A lot of her problems were due to poor self-image. She wore extraordinary amounts of makeup, tons of fake eyelashes, got her teeth capped, dyed her hair blonde, lost weight – she wanted to be a beauty. She didn’t want to be the fat girl from Clueless. She didn’t eat a lot. She would drink copious amounts of coffee.”

32-year-old Murphy was rumored to have troubles with drug abuse and eating disorders. The authorities found several prescription medications in the actress’ home and she had been suffering from flu-like symptoms in the days leading up to her death.

Murphy’s body is currently undergoing an autopsy, against the wishes of her husband Simon Monjack. The autopsy will take four to eight weeks for toxicology results to come back with a final cause of death.

[Via http://marvelousgirl.wordpress.com]

Davao dads to restrict sprouting of container yards in the city

2009-12-21T07:44:00.000+02:00

December 16, 2009 1:59 pm

DAVAO CITY, Dec. 16 – The City Council here is set to restrict the sprouting of container yards in the city following the discovery of almost 16 kilos of high-grade cocaine last week.

Majority Floor Leader Danilo Dayanghirang said a possible solution would be the “zonification” of these container yards to contain them all in one area for easier inspection by authorities.

Dayanghirang also said the council must fully investigate the incident to find ways on how to prevent the future smuggling of illegal drugs in the city.

The city council will conduct an inquiry on the discovery of the cocaine inside the container yard once it resumes work after the holidays, he said.

Dayanghirang said aside from identifying zones for the container yards, drug-sniffing dogs must also be used in the yards to ensure that no illegal drugs would enter the Davao market.

Davao City Police Office (DCPO) Director Ramon Apolinario supported Dayanghirang’s call, saying the use of K-9 dogs is essential in any operations against terrorism and illegal drugs.

Dayanghirang said he would ask the committee on public safety headed by Councilor Nilo Abellera to conduct the committee hearing.

On December 9, workers of Maersk discovered white powdery substance inside the reefer machine located at the back of two container vans that came from India and Pakistan.

The next day, another pack of powdery white substance was found in another container van inside the Maersk container yard.

The police confirmed the powdery white substance was high-grade cocaine valued at P110 million. (PNA)

[Via http://dannydayanghirang.wordpress.com]

Her eyes are focusing!!!

2009-12-18T15:31:00.000+02:00

Now, I know I said I would stop writing about Lindsay Lohan as soon as a picture emerges of her where she doesn’t look like a cracked-out, sex-hungry asylum escapee (or something along those lines)… but now that picture has somewhat appeared I just have to celebrate.

Her face actually looks fairly normal! Her makeup is toned down, both her eyes are looking in the same direction, and she’s cracking that gorgeous smile rather than doing the duckface.

Now all we need to worry about is the worrying clothes, hair and BMI.

I just want to give her a sandwich and a haircut. And a new pair of tights.

Progress Lindsay, progess.

[Via http://notontheguestlist.wordpress.com]

Fear of violence after killing of drug lord in Mexico

2009-12-18T07:23:00.000+02:00

As Mexican and US officials have hailed the killing of top drug lord (Marcos) Arturo Beltrán Leyva, many are fearing further violence in the struggle to replace him.

Arturo Beltran Leyva, nicknamed the “boss of bosses,” was killed in a shoot-out with the navy south of Mexico City late on Wednesday, along with six cartel members.

The killing gave a boost to President Felipe Calderon’s controversial three-year military clampdown on drug gangs, which has been accompanied by a spike in violence, leaving some 15,000 dead.

Calderon called the navy raid in which the drug lord was killed “an important achievement for the government and people of Mexico.”

However many have warned that the high-profile killing could provoke further turf wars.

“We can’t rule out the possibility of in-fighting, until a new line of command is defined,” Attorney General Arturo Chávez Chávez said on Thursday.

Beltran Leyva was one of five brothers who split from the country’s most powerful Sinaloa Cartel several years ago and aligned themselves with previous competitors from other gangs in a bid to counteract their influence.

Many say that the Sinaloa cartel, which has had a firm support base in western Mexico for decades and operates across the world, would gain the most from Beltran Leyva’s death.

[Via http://bbvm.wordpress.com]

New H1N1 vaccine scandal - government screwed up

2009-12-16T15:27:00.000+02:00

U.S. Recalls 800,000 Swine Flu Vaccine

December 12, 2009 by Joanne Silberner

After massive efforts to convince the public that it should get vaccinated against the swine flu virus, the government Tuesday recalled 800,000 doses of vaccine targeted to children. The recall, which was based on potency concerns, may lead to fresh worries that the government rushed to get the product on the market too quickly.

bureaucracy, children, crisis, drugs, gaffe, government, health, health care, marxism, medicine, nanny state, news, oversight, pandering, political correctness, politics, public policy, scandal, socialism

[Via http://feltd.wordpress.com]

Deadly Popcorn and AOL News: Typos in the Nuwz...I Mean News

2009-12-16T07:39:00.000+02:00

Sphere, the new name for AOL News, has published an article about the dangers of diacetyl, a chemical used in artificial butter flavoring that has been linked to the deaths of hundreds, and lung failure in others, who are either exposed to the chemical from working with it or from a microwave popcorn addiction, “Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Make Popcorn“.

I suppose typos could be deadly, but no such instances come to mind. We may question the lethality of typos, but we cannot question their frequent occurrence in news stories:

In a report made public last week, NIOSH [National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health] said that investigators found concentrations of butter flavoring agent 2,3-pentanedione in liquid buttermilk flavoring and during production of a bakery mixes.

Delete the letter “a” and you’ve got a respectable paragraph, ladies and gentlemen.

[Via http://ajamesediting.com]

"Seester for saille, only 5 peso": Jarv's best of South America and Africa

2009-12-14T15:27:00.000+02:00

Hola,

Today we do South America and Africa in my epic quest to find the best films of the decade. This is a short list (only 5 titles- I like round numbers), because if I’ve even heard of them, let alone seen them, then they’re automatically good, and I hadn’t seen as many as I thought- only about 15- I could have put 10 in, but I don’t think the bottom 3 warrant making a best of list, so there are a few near misses that I’m not mentioning. These are actually the best ones- and I’ve included the only one I outright hate as the Dishonourable Mention. I’ve got a couple more Brazilian Films to watch so I may come back and add to it, so we’ll see. Not to mention that several of them that I thought were 21st Century were actually late 90’s.

Anyhow on with the list.

5) Linha De Passe (2008-Brazil)

I find it difficult to write about this film. I mean, I know objectively it is a good film (I don’t think Sallas has ever made a bad one), but it was billed in this country as a sequel to the simply magnificent Central Station. It isn’t. It doesn’t even cover the same material.

Anyhow, LDP covers the tribulations of a favella dwelling Sao Paulo family. The heavily pregnant mother is a maid for a rich woman, the eldest son dreams of being a footballer, but he’s too old, the second son is a sort of priest in his spare time while holding down a shitty job in a petrol station, the second youngest is an out-and-out scumbag while the youngest is merely a kid. It is a good film, with moments of genuine brilliance (the motorcycle scenes), but at the end of the day it is an unremittingly bleak film and I can’t help but think it’s a tad overrated.

In all honesty, if you feel in the mood to watch a violence free film about poverty in Brazil, then watch Central Station. This is a good film, but that one is a great film.

4) The Devil’s Backbone (2001- Mexico)

Now we’re talking. Before Del Toro made his way to Hollywood to make Comic book films, he was a horror director of some note. This, his sophomore effort, is a genuinely frightening ghost story set in a Spanish orphanage.

It’s a taut little film, but what elevates it head and shoulders above the crowd is the performance of the kids. Creepy, compelling stuff. To be honest, like with all Del Toro’s stuff, I found the non-supernatural elements of the film to be far more interesting than the ghost story. He captures life for the orphans in fascist Spain in a gripping and compelling fashion. A really, really good film.

3) Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001- Mexico)

I said this about Shaun of The Dead, but I think the same applies to this film- everyone forgets how fresh it was on release. Cuaron’s pre Harry Potter film is surprisingly complex, even if you can see the ending coming a mile away.

A cross between a coming of age story and a road movie, YTMT relies heavily on the central performances of the young leads, and luckily for them one of them is Bernal. It’s not a melodrama, as such, but it is a diverting time, and I stick it on every now and again at home if I can’t think of what else to watch.

It was unfairly labeled as soft porn in this country on release, but if you’re looking for wank material then this isn’t it.

You do have to wonder about the 28 year old woman that’s molesting them though.

2)Tsotsi (2005- South Africa)

This makes my best of the decade list, so I’m going to be brief with this as well. It was billed as the South African version of City of God. It isn’t- that’s absolute horseshit.

What it is, is a redemption story of a young township dwelling thug as he has to come to terms with the fact that he’s accidentally kidnapped a baby. It has none of the kinetic energy of City of God, and is not really comparable. Rather, I think this is a touching story, that’s well filmed and although it’s clearly going to end badly for our thug hero, you kind of hope that it won’t.

Stirring, Oscar winning stuff and well worth a couple of hours of anyone’s time.

1)City of God (2003- Brazil)

As is to be expected, this Brazilian masterpiece (based on a true story) also ranks in my top 10 of the decade.

City of God is a kaleidoscope of mayhem and violence charting a young slum dweller, Rocket, as he grows up during the rise and fall of one of Rio de Janeiro’s most notorious gangsters. A fucking monster of a film- and one that is endlessly entertaining, truly gripping and stylistically superb.

Apparently Meirelles next film, Blindness, is a steaming stack of shit, but that doesn’t matter- this is enough of a legacy for anyone.

Dishonourable Mention:

Maria full of Grace (2003-Columbia)

Load of fucking hand wringing nonsense about drugs mules. I’ll give you a clue- fuckheads- this kind of blatantly manipulative shit only works if you give a fuck about any of the characters in the film.

Needless to say, I thought she was an obnoxious cow, and as such I did not even summon up the slightest bit of interest at her plight.

Fuck this noise. It’s also as boring as fuck, but that is a direct consequence of crushing itself to death by being “worthy”. It does, to be fair, ask questions, but half the problem is that it doesn’t even bother trying to answer them.

Rubbish. Pah.

As usual, I’ve more than likely forgotten some, and I will be returning to update this list later (I’m thinking about a few more, that I desperately need to rewatch before putting them in or out)

Ciao

Jarv

[Via http://moonwolves.wordpress.com]

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night!

2009-12-14T07:28:00.000+02:00

Night driving has always been problematic for me. The headlights from oncoming traffic not only distract me, they actually hurt my eyes.

After being somewhat discouraged yesterday about not feeling anything from the meds, I gradually upped the dose (within the parameters my doctor set for me for incremental increases). This morning I took 5mg. Usually, I am very groggy in the mornings. In college, anything before 11am was a sure bet for a C or less….Though slightly tired from the busy week this week (all three children were in a theatrical production this weekend, and we’ve had rehearsals, etc.), I “woke up” much faster than usual.

Further, I felt more “aware” of my surroundings, not like “zoned out.” For my afternoon dose, I took the remaining half of yesterday’s half-tablet, along with another 5mg. Wow! It was as if the fog lessened at bit. I think I still need to go up to the full 20mg per day total, but driving was finally a treat!

I am usually a terrible driver. I’ve had accidents, ridden over the curb, difficulty gauging parking spaces (as in, depth perception issues, maybe??), lead foot, slamming on the brakes because I didn’t notice the car slowing/stopped in front of me…But none of that happened! And, the oncoming traffic didn’t bother me, either!

Not a huge difference in motivation, but definitely an improvement on a small scale! Though my doctor gave me papers to fill out, I am finding this site much more effective in tracking my progress (and in far more detail).

(Hat tip to ADD Forums for the site recommendation!)

[Via http://1addmama.wordpress.com]

Medication Errors - Do You Know Your Meds?

2009-12-11T15:35:00.000+02:00

Hospital patients are unsure of drugs they are taking

A study found 44% of hospital patients believed they were being given a drug when, in fact, it had not been prescribed. Data showed 96% of patients could not remember one or more of the medications prescribed for them during their hospital stay. The lead researcher said communicating with patients can help add a layer of protection against medication errors. Yahoo!/HealthDay News (12/10)

[Via http://ilovebenefits.wordpress.com]

Holidays and Grief

2009-12-11T07:30:00.000+02:00

Holidays for grieving parents can be a nightmare. Often times, the anticipation leading up to the event can literally put a fragile parent in a downward spiral, especially the newly bereft. We need to know it’s all right to decline invitations, to decide NOT to celebrate Holidays the usual way, because what has happened to a mourning parent isn’t usual at all.

Friends and family can help make the grief stricken parents survive, by offering alternatives and supporting them in their decision. Some parents find doing the routine of Holidays past can be healing, some set a place at the table for their departed child. Some parents leave town, and go somewhere that they aren’t constantly reminded of their loss, instead of having the traditional family gathering. This helps them get through the painful reminder that their child is no longer with them to celebrate. Other parents do nothing at all.

No matter what your choice, this Holiday season, remember it is your choice and no one has the right to tell you how you should or should not celebrate. Your life is different, now, you are a different person. Learning how to live your life after the death of a child takes time mixed with tears. How much time? How many tears? No one can answer that for you. It has been 10 years since my son, Kelly, died. Each holiday brings me to my knees, but knowing this can happen arms me with the knowledge that it will pass. Anticipation, for me and many others, is always worse than the actual Holiday. Our celebrations aren’t the same as when my son was alive, they are new traditions that include him. I light a candle in front of his picture, I have his Drummer Boy ornament that is placed near the top of the tree every Christmas, the quilt I made from his favorite T-shirts rests on the back of my chair. I sing to him, at the cemetery, as I decorate his crypt for each season, Holiday, Birthday, and Angel Day. I could never forget my child, I carry him with me always.

Now, as Thanksgiving looms, I am becoming anxious & sad. I find myself aching for one more hug, one more chance to hear the sound of his infectious laughter. On Thanksgiving Day, I will give thanks for the 28 years we were given. Thanks for being his Mother. Thanks for all the lessons he has taught me both in life and in death.

In loving memory of Kelly Arthur Hubenthal

August 7, 1967 to June 29, 1996

Forever in our hearts, with love.

[Via http://suhuben.wordpress.com]

Frankie Gets Punked by Anthony and Dakota - shortfilmzz123 Youtube

2009-12-09T15:44:00.000+02:00

Frankie Gets Punked by Anthony and Dakota – shortfilmzz123 Youtube

The Ultimate revenge, an eye for an eye in this case its hair for a weed.

You’ll understand once you watch the video.

Video was provided by shortfilmzz123 on youtube.

This one made me crack up!

Poor Frankie!

[Via http://ideagirlconsulting.wordpress.com]

Lighters Up

2009-12-09T06:50:00.000+02:00

Lighters up

like at a Queen concert

if Freddie Mercury were still alive

if you were still alive

singing Bohemian Rhapsody

Mama, just killed a man

a lot like Miss Jones,

I think I just shot her son

I think it just snowed in East Texas

Who knew

memories of you would get me

singing Randy Travis

higher than the pine trees

that grow tall upon the hill

The one in the summer

where we used to smoke pot

I thought, what’s wrong

with this neighborhood?

urban life decay

I look for you everywhere:

In crossword puzzles,

clouds, thin air, Rumble Fish,

katamari damacy, Disneyland,

flour bags, grocery stores,

dreams, nightmares, everywhere

Wouldn’t you?

Lighter’s up

its flame

cathedral champaign

and my bleeding heart

A most beautiful ruby red.

[Via http://lollygabber.wordpress.com]

Drugs mad house

2009-12-07T15:45:00.000+02:00

last Saturday (5th Dec 2009) we going to clean the 2 houses in norwich which is full of mess everywhere..

When we start cleaning at 196 Kingwood Ave near norwich and in upstars rooms which is full of mess and saw some compost on floors and in the kicthen there some drugs of weed left near the sink!!!

also in 43 barrett road norwich which is there same mess from 196 kingwood ave!!!

what the hell wrong with those people!!!!

[Via http://speedy05.wordpress.com]

Mango Trypping: Chapter II

2009-12-07T07:25:00.000+02:00

In association with Widely Regarded as a Bad MoveChapter 2 – Captain Halloran’s Magnificent Hair In which Captain Halloran and his best friend are introduced

A cold wind flattened Captain Halloran’s fringe against his forehead. Both his hands were occupied, one holding the loose end of a thick metal cable, and the other wrapped tightly around the rigging. Blinded by his slightly-too-long brown hair, Captain Halloran’s only choice was to flick his head somewhat cinematically. He groaned as he realised how pretentious that would’ve looked to his crew, a good two thirds of which was standing below him, presumably looking up and snickering. Great, he thought. All I need now is a knife held between my teeth and a stirring soundtrack. Regaining composure, the Captain threaded the cable through a winch above his head, then rappelled down the mast, cable trailing behind him. His heavy boots hit the deck and the gathered crew cheered.

“That’s enough!” The Captain shouted over the sarcastic applause. “Enough of that cheek.” He turned, fastened the cable to a hook at the base of the mast, and pushed through the crew toward his quarters.

“And how long did it take you to do your hair this morning, oh Captain my Captain?” asked a slight, blonde, bespectacled observer.

“Shut it, Julian.” Captain Halloran grumbled, but he couldn’t really hide his smile.

Julian Walton was Joe’s library companion. The pair would set up camp in the university library. Joseph would spread himself across a soft lounge chair, boots propped up on the nearest desk. On the floor beside the lounge would lie a stack of dusty books, most picked on whims, subjects like geography, languages, history, sometimes astronomy. Joseph would sit so slouched that he could select a new book from his stack without stretching. Jules would sit straight-backed at a desk further away from the lounge, reading glasses perched on his small, straight nose. Joe could tell when his friend was particularly interested in what he was reading; Jules would lean over his book, rest his cheek on his hand, elbow propped on the desk, and run his other hand through his dark blonde hair. His eyes would widen behind his glasses and sometimes his lips would move as he mouthed what he was reading. Whenever this happened, Joe would rise from his chair, walk unnoticed toward his library companion, and pull whatever book it was that had Jules so fascinated right out from under his nose, usually met with little sounds of annoyance and snatches of mumbled phrases like ‘train of thought’ and ‘you wouldn’t understand it anyway’. Joe never understood what his friend read, heavy textbooks filled with equations and theories attempting to explain the universe.

“You have the brains,” Joe would say, falling back onto the lounge, “but I have the hair.”

Thank You For Your Thyme

[Via http://thankyouforyourthyme.wordpress.com]

Harsh Reality

2009-12-04T15:39:00.000+02:00

Ok.. so before I get into this post, let me bring y’all up to speed by saying that I no longer have health insurance because I was laid off in July. Even if I would consider it, I am NOT eligible for state aid because I receive unemployment. I AM eligibile for a private HMO but have to wait through a 7 month “grace” period.

So with that said …

This past Wednesday, The Good Doctor’s husband came into the shop for turkey. Chief explains that he doesn’t have the turkey that The Good Doctor’s husband likes because I’ve been sick as a dog and without me in the shop or doing the running around, everything is on a skeleton.

The Good Doctor’s husband asks what’s wrong.. Chief goes into my litany of symptoms… and the Good Doctor’s husband tells Chief to have me call ASAP and they’ll fit me in.

So Chief calls me and I am SO NOT A HAPPY CAMPER. I don’t like going to doctors. He knows this but OBVIOUSLY is more concerned about my well being then I am. But now I’m in a bind because it’s The Good Doctor. Who is not only a super sweet person but a really good customer and since Chief had to open his big fat mouth and they’ll willing to fit me in.. I have to call.

Fuck.

It was around lunch time so I figured I’d wait an hour before I call. I tell him this.. he seems satisfied and I rolled over and went back to sleep.

Until my cell phone rang.

Until my cell phone rand that The Good Doctor’s name came up on the caller id.

Fuck! He gave them my freakin’ number.

He knows me SO well!

Wind up is is that I couldn’t be seen until Thursday at 11:15am.

I immediately call Chief and chastised him on giving out my cell phone number. But he knew the deal and was just glad that I made the appointment.

He wanted to come with me but since my appointment was at the start of his lunch rush, I told him I could go at it alone. I figured I’d be feeling better by the next day anyway and also, I didn’t want him there when they weighed me.

Trivial girly stuff.. but it is what it is so what can I tell you.

I actually am NOT feeling any better at the time of my appointment. And as I’m sitting in The Good Doctor’s waiting room I am suddenly overcome by the feeling of passing out. I only ALMOST passed out once and it wasn’t a nice feeling. It was so bad that I couldn’t even hold the pen to fill out the paperwork.

So I get all girly and sniffly and call Chief and tell him that I need him. The shop is only a few blocks away and he was there in an instant. And of course, as soon as he got there I started to feel better and told him he could leave. Of course, he looked at me like I was insane but I knew his mind was on the store and missing the lunch rush money and I started to feel guilty that I had even called him in the first place. But he felt that his place was with me so he stayed.

When we finally got called into the exam room and The Good Doctor started to exam me, and based on what I was telling her she says that there is a very real possibility that I contracted the Pig Virus :: H1N1 to all you non-rednecks :: and that if I had come in sooner she could have given me something that would have made me better faster.

Wonderful. What the hell can I tell you.

She then asked if I smoked. If Chief wasn’t there I would have lied and said that I was able to quit xx months ago or get all giddy and excited by telling her I HAVE XX DAYS CLEAN! but I couldn’t because he was there and so when I told her that I did, OMG.. her reaction was SO FREAKIN’ OVER THE TOP.

I mean.. ok. I know smoking is bad for you. Worse then bad. I get it. I really, really do. I know I’m setting myself up for all kinds of horrible things. And I’m NOT justifying it. I swear, I’m not. But she laid into me SO hard and SO fierce that I really just wanted say LOOK BITCH, CAN WE FOCUS ON THE PIG VIRUS HERE?

Seriously.. I felt like I was in one of the Scared Straight movies that they show teenagers about prison life.

She pulls out this paper with information on the patch and the gum and the things you suck on that will help you quit smoking and wouldn’t get off the subject until I agreed to use one of the above to stop. I played along and went with the things you suck on because they had a coffee flavored one.

The worse part of it all… is that when she gave me the inhaler medicine and the nasal spray.. she proceeded to tell me how much they would cost if I had to go to a pharmacy and get them and that it’s just a waste to give them to me if I’m not going to stop smoking. Then she proceeds to tell me that:

I shouldn’t even be seeing you because you don’t have insurance and it’s a big liability
If the president’s healthcare goes through, you wouldn’t even get treatment if you had cancer because you smoke.

Now.. ok.. so since when is getting paid in cash for an office visit more of a liability then being paid for an office visit by an insurance company?

I’ve worked both sides of health care for the past 23 years :: until I got laid off :: so I know how everything works .. and trust me, it’s not the way it’s being presented to the masses.

But I’m not getting into that.. I’m too exhausted and spent to go into all that now. Maybe later.

Anyway.. so she gives me the 200.00 a month inhaler and the 150.00 nasal spray :: but come one, they were samples and didn’t cost her anything :: and then writes me a script for 7 antibiotic pills that cost me 108.00.

I know she didn’t mean to make me feel like I was a dredge of society. But she did.. she made me feel like a failure because I didn’t have health insurance. She made me feel like I was just someone who was coping free medicine. She made me feel like I wasn’t up to her standard and the only reason why she lowered herself to treat me is because her husband loves Chief’s turkey.

She literally had me in tears and I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there.

On the way home, I told Chief that I absolutely hated him for making me go through with appointment and it was the kind of hate that would never be forgiven.

He said that was fine, as long as I was around long enough to hate him he didn’t care.

Now here’s the thing.. if you want to discuss it or debate it or whatever you can go right ahead but I’m not going to partake. I’ll just leave my 2 cents here for y’all to mull over:

If healthcare is going to be re-vamped, then it needs to be REVAMPED. You can’t half step this one. It’s so bad.. and so corrupt that it literally has to be restructured as a whole.. not bits and pieces of it.

Health Insurance should only be for long term treatments, surgeries, pregnancies and stuff like that. Everything else should be fee for service. You go to the doctors, you pay the doctor visit. If one doctor charges 50.00 a visit, then go to the one that charges 35. The fact that doctor’s do NOT see uninsured people only puts more strain on emergency rooms. We, as a country, are used to having things FAST. And I think because of that, we’ve forgotten when we really need to see a doctor. I can’t tell you how many people sat in the ER complaining of a sore throat.. or an earache.. or something really, really minor. All that did was tie up the ER and waste resources.

If the government is going to model health care on a foreign country, then they should model Italy’s. And I’m not just saying that because I’m Italian.. I’m saying that because I have relatives in Italy and we’ve had this discussion. No system is perfect. Not everybody’s “needs” will be met but we need to move away from what we think we are entitled to and get back to the way things were before we were indoctrinated with insurance is king.

Kids have all inclusive coverage from birth to age 16 .. the elderly are covered from 67 (I believe) on up.. again .. all inclusive. Or 70. I forget.

But doesn’t that make sense?

And how about this? If the government is SO amped on getting involved in this and instead of baiting and switching or money this or money that.. just open freakin’ clinics so that people who can’t afford private health care and who aren’t eligible for medicaid have a place to go to get care if they need it.

Oh.. and welfare? Yea.. make people work for it. Clean the streets.. scrub graffeti .. do what people who get community service have to do.. board up old houses for Christ sake.. something. Anything.

Benjamin Franklin said it best:

I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed…that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.

Okay.. I think the meds are kicking in and I’m getting all scattered over here. My apologies.. I’ll end my rant now!

[Via http://me101.wordpress.com]

Moment of Clarity

2009-12-04T07:35:00.000+02:00

“Young and stupid”. Many has been the night that I tried to recite this mantra to myself in fits of self-awareness.

“Remember, you are young and stupid,” I’d silently repeat to myself, “so goddamn young.” When I first started saying this to myself, it was almost a personal call to arms. I had grown weary of what I thought to be my ignorant youth, a time spent behind closed doors and impenetrable masks. My trusty coping mechanisms – lies and deceit – which once shielded me from pain and embarrassment, had ended up cutting me off from the world around me. I was now ready and ravenous for new and foreign experiences.

But I left myself far too open, and I became lost in the woods of my own social decadence. It was then that my mantra transformed into a self-pitying whimper, a defeated cry of surrender. I told myself again and again how young and stupid I was, and thus I convinced myself of my own impotence. In a very real sense, I felt that I was finished.

No longer. Tonight I went for a walk. The weather was cool and crisp, my music soft and comforting. The amphetamines in my veins sharpening my mind. The ambience was perfect for reflection.

And so I thought about the last eighteen months, and all the sloppy, horrific wonders that I have come to know. In that time, I lost my virginity to a landlady eight years my senior. I had been punched in the chest by my now brother-in-law. For the first time in my life, I had said the words “I love you” to a girl and meant it. I’d started smoking and quit. I’d slept with two girls in one night. I saw my sister get married.

After reflecting upon all that I had accomplished in such a short span, I came to realize that I finally understood this mantra. It is not a shield to hide behind when plumbing the depths of depravity. It is not an insult to be self-applied when feeling depravity’s doubled edge. And it is certainly not a cliche to be bandied about by those who aspire to be jaded.

“Young and stupid” is simply this: a calm and jubilant realization that there are far more wonders to be seen and lessons to be learned in this life, and that one should be both clever enough to realize this and stupid enough to keep studying.

Sorry to define a cliche with sentimental treacle. It doesn’t make it any less of a goddamn epiphany.

[Via http://americanloon.wordpress.com]

king of the culchies

2009-12-02T23:27:00.000+02:00

The Culchie Wrap (no audio available):

Now being a Culchie is not so tough, you might look funny and a small bit rough, some of us are single and some are dads, but I’ll tell you one thing, we’re the finest lads. Its time to bring my Culchie Wrap to a close, I’ve to go to the jacks and powder my nose. Its great to see the look on all of you’re faces, when I tell ya that us Culchies are going places.

Do culchies really like cocaine? Someone I knew was at a lock in at a pub in a village in Cork. The farmers were playin 45 and doing coke and smoking weed and drinking crates of cider. That was a few years ago so I can only presume they are worse now.

Finally a list of all the things that define being a culchie.

Sadly it is pretty accurate.

Look at what these idiots did to this kid by fooling him at an Aaaaart competition in Aaaaardee by the sounds of it:

Here is Tubridy actually getting a ride:

[Via http://atoast2toast.com]

Pirates Log 117= P-wing Rings jackets+Hulk 17 + Faust apr Radiohead.

2009-12-02T15:45:00.000+02:00

These are all of the known colors of the p-wing ring jacket colors that i know of. I love the fade that these jackets get when they show their age.

Pwing ring jackets

And here is the variant cover to hulk 17. Great issue if you get to pick it up.

Hulk 17

and here is another interesting radio head video. see if you can figure out the meaning of the video Faust apr

[Via http://polopirate.wordpress.com]

Leonard's Dope

2009-11-30T06:47:00.000+02:00

I know a guy by the name of Leonard Dohr. I’ve know him a real long time actually, over a couple of decades. The first ten years or so that I knew him, it was just casual, a mutual friend. I didn’t know him well. About nine or so years ago, that mutual friend died. I ran into Leonard at the memorial, we smoked a reefer, exchanged numbers, and have kept in touch since.

Nowadays I know Leonard very well. He is a swell guy. Leonard would give the shirt off his back to a total stranger, as long as that stranger met his approval. I know that seems odd but Leonard has his own charities. I know that he takes in many strays at his home. If you know Leonard, if Leonard were your friend, you’ll never have to sleep outside, no matter what you did to get there.

Leonard’s parents have been deceased many years. Leonard was bequeathed a small fortune and was living a life with few struggles. I am not saying that Leonard is rich, he certainly is not. It is just that Leonard doesn’t need to work. Does not seem to concern himself with the little things in life that drive us all nuts, like paying bills, or creating a budget. I kid with Leonard, I tell him that he leads a life of leisure, the American dream. I tell him that if I had his choices, my own life would be considerably easier. That is not, in any way, suggesting I would live Leonard’s life. Hell no!

Leonard is fucking nuts.

Leonard has an unusual philosophy about life. If you didn’t really know him, it would be easy to dismiss his quirks as perhaps a form of dementia, or maybe you’d feel sorry for Leonard.

I know Leonard and I don’t really see it that way.

Leonard is about my age, maybe fifty or so. Like myself, he grew up in the decades following the Manson thing, after the Zodiac, right about the time when young folks started to take their drug experimentation a lot more seriously. Leonard did lots of acid. Leonard would ingest nearly anything that carried the promise of an eternal sense of happiness. I think he neglected to find exactly that, but he continues to try.

I have spent a bit more time lately with Leonard than is usual and I’m reminded how fucking crazy this cat can be. We’ve sat together lately several times, smoking grass and exchanging ideas on how to save humanity or some such thing. Sometimes it was just he and I, sometimes we were joined by others in our little peer group. I absolutely love to sit with other adults and exchange ideas and information, Leonard says it is the key to the evolution of man. Now that I know what he meant, I know he was right.

Leonard’s conversations are often centered around Leonard. I don’t think he’s especially narcissistic, I believe he’s only just discovering himself and is frequently amazed, or frightened, by what he finds. About the time I ran into Leonard at the memorial. He had just gotten his first computer and was planning to look into getting an internet provider and exploring this new technology.

The very next time I ran into Leonard, he was high as a kite and really excited about all the cool stuff he was finding through the magic of the world wide web.

See, Leonard is a strange kind of cat. Leonard is convinced that his drug use, yes street drugs, is not only, not killing him, it’s giving him a better, a more fulfilling life.

Granted, his financial situation is unique, perhaps enviable, and that does make a difference in his perception of the damage.

Anyway, now he kind of stays loaded, busy studying the new world he has found online, and he seems genuinely happy. He does not break the law in any other way. He pays his bills, eats good and shares his bounty with anyone in need. He is a great human being really.

I only find it odd that his choices would certainly raise eyebrows pretty much anywhere, any time, but his life seems quite manageable. In fact, he asked me point blank, the other day while we were discussing it, “Lloyd,” he says, “what would get better if I quit?” “What would be improved so much that I would be better off?”

I really had no clear honest answer.

[Via http://brachs.wordpress.com]

Customs officials seize $2.6 million worth of bongs

2009-11-27T15:26:00.000+02:00

The Los Angeles Times brings us this story that seems appropriate on Black Friday…

Customs officials at the Los Angeles Harbor received a shipment from China listed as Christmas ornaments.

But when they opened the “presents” Tuesday, they found 316,000 bongs and pipes.

“They’re very colorful and big,” said Cristina Gamez, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “Some of them are like 2 feet tall.”

Gamez said glass bongs and pipes, contained in nearly 860 boxes of cargo, are worth about $2.6 million.

The package arrived a month ago but was seized Tuesday at the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex. The manifest listing the cargo’s contents said Christmas ornaments were inside. They were addressed to someone in L.A. County.

Gamez said no arrests have been made, and an investigation is pending. She said that it is illegal to import, export or sell drug paraphernalia in the United States and that all the items would be destroyed.

[Via http://houstondwiattorney.wordpress.com]

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T07:35:00.000+02:00

I can say, without a doubt, that this has been the worst Thanksgiving of my life.

Now don’t get me wrong. Turkey Day 2009 was hardly my first Thanksgiving that didn’t resemble a Norman Rockwell painting. When I was in high school, we spent one festival of gluttony in Mexico as my cousin was getting married; for the rehearsal dinner, we had turkey tacos. Another Thanksgiving was spent in Montreal where my mother witnessed for the first time the full visceral horror of my step-brother’s eating binges. Then once as a child, my elderly jewish grandparents didn’t feel like having turkey for dinner so we had duck instead.

But this time things were different. No family. No turkey. No abundance of dirt cheap champagne. I didn’t even get to spend time with any friends.

Ok, well that last part is only half true, in that I saw a “friend”. The reason for these obnoxious quotation marks is such: this is a person with whom I initially established simply friendly relations, then somehow over the course of the last few months – and to my dismay – I’ve become his best friend and lifeline to sanity.

Now that last bit may sound a bit narcissistic on my part, but there have been signs that my conclusion is sound. For one, he often says that I’m the only person who actually understands his ideas. He’s even called me his translator at times. Second, I was the first person he called a few weeks back after a particularly scary hospital visit. Third, having a certain amount of expertise in the area (extensive personal therapy, family suicide, etc.) I can safely say that he’s displaying all of the signs of a person haunted with suicidal thoughts.

Today, he visited me for a few hours. Since he was doing me a favor anyway (delivering a tiny amount of drugs to me), I made him some french toast.

By the way, I have finally perfected the recipe. For those who want to know, it involves eggs, milk, honey, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.

The point is, I had work to do, and so I couldn’t hang out with him all day. So I kept encouraging him to see if anyone else was available, and of course he had little success. Then, all of a sudden, he left, with tears beading in his eyes. What bugs me, though, is that the tears came from an easily avoidable place. The problem is thus: while he may see me as the only person who actually listens to him, he has yet to listen to me or any voice of reason.

Yet sadly enough, he is probably the closest thing I have to family out here. Yes, the best facsimile of home that I can create involves the regular babysitting of an emotional succubus.

Happy Thanksgiving indeed.

[Via http://americanloon.wordpress.com]

What type of Drinker are You?

2009-11-25T22:53:00.000+02:00

See what type of Drinker you are and if your in Trouble!According to a recent UK Department of Health study, there are several reasons as to why people drink to excess on a regular basis.

They have identified nine main groups or reasons why people drink heavily. Heavy drinking is defined as 35 units per week for women and 50 units per week for men. This is twice the recommended limit.

Although this is obviously just a general guide, where do you think you fit into this? It may be you fit across categories or even have other reasons outside of the nine presented below. However, it is a useful guide to start looking at the causes for your heavy drinking.

Depressed drinker Your life is in a state of crisis, e.g. recently bereaved, divorced or in a financial crisis. Alcohol is a comforter and a form of self-medication to help you cope Destress drinker You have a pressurised job or stressful home-life leading you to have feelings of being out of control and burdened with responsibility. You use alcohol to relax, unwind and calm down and to help with switching between your work and your personal life. Partners often support or reinforce this behaviour by preparing drinks for you. Re-bonding drinker You use alcohol as the ’shared connector’ that unifies your friends and your social circle. You often forget the time and the amount of alcohol you are consuming. Conformist drinker You use going to the pub or bar as what ‘men do’ and it is your second home and you have a sense of belonging and acceptance within this environment. Community drinker You drink in fairly large social friendship groups. You have a sense of community forged through the pub group. Drinking for you provide a sense of safety and security and gives your life meaning and also acts as a social network with your friends. Boredom drinker This is especially true if you are a single mother or recent divorcee with a restricted social life. Drinking is company, making for an absence of people. Drinking marks the end of the day perhaps following the completion of chores. Macho drinker You often feel undervalued, disempowered and frustrated in important areas of your life. You have actively cultivated a strong alpha male identity that revolves around your drinking prowess. Your drinking is driven by a constant need to assert your masculinity and status to yourself and others. Hedonistic drinker You are single, divorced and/or with grown-up children. Drinking excessively is a way for you to visibly express your independence, freedom and ‘youthfulness’ to yourself. You use alcohol to release your inhibitions.

Find Out More:

In order to start making changes with your relationship with alcohol please visit the Alcohol Free Social Life website where you will learn specific techniques and examples of how to make changes now:

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE DETAILS

and How to Live A Better Life NOW

[Via http://sober4life.wordpress.com]

Depresia toamna-iarna!

2009-11-25T15:31:00.000+02:00

“Lasa-ma domne-n pace!” momentan vegetez cufundata de ganduri idioate incercand sa termin de citit un capitol din enigma don’soarei Otilia, adica citesc pana ma plictisesc de tot, eventual pana mi se acreste de carte si o arunc cat colo in rafturile care bineinteles nu mai sunt sterse de praf de o caruta de timp, à propos de carti, azi cam trebuia sa ma duc pe la Gaumeadus dar am preferat sa stau acasa si sa ma “bucur” de timpul liber pe care-l am…zilele astea am o perioada mai emo asa pentru ca sunt un om semigripat, realmente mort, oricum nu ma vaccinam pentru nicio gripa canina, porcina, aviara, caprina etc.

Am ganduri mari sa-mi tai parul, daaa parul ala lung, saten si ondulat al meu care mi se pare mai mult lana, mi-ar placea sa nu mai fiu nevoita sa-l perii zilnic, sa plang dupa fiecare fir cazut…pur si simplu l-as purta valvoi sau ciufulit in cap, cred ca mi-ar fii mult mai bine…

Nu am mai avut timp sa aberez pe blog tocmai pentru ca am fost prea ocupata cu programul “scoala-teme-movies”. Acum sunt prea nervoasa sa mai scriu ceva frumos cum scriam odata…ma enerveaza sa vad cum se labarteaza falnic un ditamai cosu’ pe faţa mea si ma face sa ma simt mult mai jalnica decat sunt momentan…

Ma enerveaza lumea tocmai pentru ca nu mai e soare, vara si caldura. Acum va e frig si deveniti mai ursuzi, va inchideti intr-o carapace unde hibernati, adunati energie pentru o perioada care este mult prea departe…in fine, ma vindec de EMOnita curand…

[Via http://cosminastefania.wordpress.com]

"In Mexico it is dangerous to speak the truth. It is even dangerous to know the truth"

2009-11-23T23:13:00.000+02:00

In his superb piece on the ‘The Fall of Mexico’, Philip Caputo does an excellent job of demonstrating both the complexity of the situation and the extent to which fear has banished trust, making it increasingly difficult to know the truth, speak the truth, and then to report that truth to others.

He was unable, for example, to determine the exact truth behind competing claims about the army’s motivations – some suspect a slow military coup is taking place, others suggest collusion with drug cartels or a wish to become a cartel themselves. But the absence of truth in one area can lead to truth in another, and what is clear from the accounts compiled by Caputo and human rights groups is that the Mexican military is ruthless, brutal, secretive and completely unaccountable to the people who pay their wages.

He reminds us, too, that it isn’t just the Mexican taxpayer which funds this motley crew; $1.4 billion of American money is funding the militarisation of the war on drugs, and it is going towards an army which has been accused of practicing torture, unlawful detention, enforced disappearance, theft, rape, and murder:

A good example is the case of Javier Rosales, a medical technician who died after he and a friend were captured and tortured by soldiers. Members of his family went to the state justice office and the federal attorney general’s office to file a complaint against the soldiers and demand an investigation. They were turned away because, the officials said, charges of army misconduct fall under military jurisdiction. However, Enrique Torres, a spokesman for the Joint Chihuahuan Operation, told me that the army looks into such allegations only through internal investigations or when formal charges have been filed by state or federal prosecutors. It’s pure catch-22: state or federal authorities will not receive complaints against soldiers, and the army will not investigate unless charges have been filed by state or federal authorities.

Nor was Rosales alone; of over 2,000 complaints made about the military’s conduct, there has been not one prosecution. By abdicating responsibility for conducting the war on drugs, the civilian government lost its ability to regulate the way it’s conducted, so the US is basically funding an institution which is a law unto itself.

Of course, Caputo is also right to ask if the army was suddenly so thoroughly reformed that it became the model of an ethical military, could it overcome the drug cartels? Probably not. “The drug gangs”, Caputo writes, “have acquired a “military capacity” that enables them to confront the army on an almost equal footing.” I don’t know the official definition of a civil war, but this has got to come close.

It’s worth noting that Caputo’s piece is one of a flurry of articles on the situation to have emerged in recent months, and I think there are a number of reasons for this. Obviously, the significant increase in death is highly newsworthy, and the country’s proximity to the United States has made it a growing concern for American media outlets. But I also think there’s a growing understanding that Mexico is reaching a sort of endgame in the war on drugs.

Everything the country has tried up until this point has failed: the responsible police and regional state officials have already been either undermined, corrupted or killed, the media is censoring itself for fear of assassination, and the political class has become discredited, distrusted and enfeebled. With this in mind, the only option Mexico had left if it wanted to sustain the war on drugs was to put everything in the hands of the military and cross their fingers.

It may yet be possible that this approach will work, that the drug cartels will lose a degree of their influence over society and that civic institutions can regain some measure of independence from the forces of coercion & corruption.

But if that approach doesn’t work – and it certainly hasn’t worked yet – that will leave the country with only two options: legalise drugs and let these cartels battle it out in the boardroom rather than in bloody street battles, or adopt a posture of denial, swallow another billion in American aid and watch in dismay as the state loses, with each passing year, more and more of its legitimacy.

Whichever path is chosen will really depend on how much more heartbreak and bloodshed the country’s public can stomach to sustain a war without end.

[Via http://bleedingheartshow.wordpress.com]

Venomous Animals (Deadly Animals With Amazing Cures)

2009-11-20T23:46:00.000+02:00

When most people think of venomous animals, their first reaction is to think of snakes. This is an accurate thought process as snakes are indeed venomous animals, infamous for killing individuals in a terrible way. However, snakes are not the only creatures that have evolved a chemical defense like venom. There are venomous birds, frogs, fish, even mollusks! The duck billed platypus contains a venomous barb on its hind paws that it can use for defense. Todays post will deal with one of these venomus animals that should be coming into fame soon. The Geographic Cone Snail.

A handfull of various types of Conidae shells

Conus geographus belongs to a family of snails known as the Conidae. Snails belonging to this family are distinguished by having a cone shaped shell. We often see these for sale on hawaiian necklaces or at shell stores. The geographic cone snail is an amazing beautiful creature but has a deadly venom. This small snail is packed with a potent venom known as Conotoxin. This venom is a classic nicotenic acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. It blocks the reuptake of acetylcholine into the nervous system. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter often responsible for muscle movement. When the inhibitor for acetylcholine is blocked, tons of it builds up in the neuro synapses. This causes the body to convluse and go rigid due to over signaling. Eventually you cannot exhale and you suffocate and die.

A Cone Snail with its harpoon excised

Conotoxin, therefore, is a wonderful weapon for Conus geographus to use to capture prey. This tiny snail can actually eat a fish whole! It has a proboscis which it uses like a nose. It searchers around for food and when it smells it, it injects a harpoon like structure into the skin of the prey. This harpoon pumps the deadly conotoxin into the prey causing it to become paralized. It then devours the food alive.

A molecule of Conotoxin

What is amazing about this compound is that it has pharmaceutical applications. A novel drug has been developed from it. The drug, known as conotropin, is a powerful analgesic, pain killer. Said to be 1,000 times more powerful than morphine with no known side effects, Conotropin, has the potential to help thousands of sufferers of pain wordwide. People with debilitating ailments such as sciatica can now rely on this drug to finally give them relief without destroying their bodies. This drug is still in clinical trials however so look for it in the near future.

Rock & Roll & Rap Videos - Don't Stop Spreading Them

2009-11-20T15:29:00.000+02:00

Do NOT Stop Spreading these Videos!

The Salvation of 3 Generations could depend on it!

1. Go to GoodFight Theater! http://www.theater.goodfight.org

Check out the AWESOME exposes and eye-opening clarity of the surprising spiritual motivations of entertainers! You will want to spread the news and the link, and order the dvds… then go to these youtube videos and spread them like a virus! The salvation of your generation depends partly on the LABORERS. We are going to wear satan out with God’s Grace & Truth just like he tries to wear us out with his sin & lies!

2

ICP think they sold their soul to the devil… But Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die.The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-_3-YB2XMo

3

MTV and Madonna and Eminem and Method Man and Jimi Hendrix and Garth Brooks and Kid Rock think they sold their soul to the devil… But Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die.

The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKfGNEuGWMo

4

Dr. Dre, Eminem and others think they sold their soul to the devil… But Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die.The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oify6AtKkFs

5

Korn and Ozzy Osbourne and Frank Zappa and Limp Bizkit and Red Hot Chili Peppers think they sold their soul to the devil… But Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die.The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRPxkkP-ZGM

6

Do you realize the satanic plan in secular music and in the United Nations is the same plan that God foiled in Genesis 11. Why are these people doing it again? They will fail again!

Pick your team! Kingdom or Babylon!

Go hard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMDF4_zekbM

7

Carlos Santana, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Hitler, have a lot in common… But Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die.

The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wv9ldtDGds

8

This clip tells the story of Robert Johnson, a Black man who is called ‘THE FATHER OF ROCK & ROLL’ admitted that he sold his soul to satan in the 1950s. The roots of rock in satanism… But Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die.

The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Aml1RZsxqw

9

Robert Johnston blues star and founder of Rock, actually sold his soul to satan. This is the root of the secular music you listen to. That’s why it does what it does to your soul. satanism… But Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die.

The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvMfM_87tec

10

Eazy E, Bone Thugs & Harmony, Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Master P, DMX, Three 6 Mafia, and others think they think they sold their soul to the devil… But Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die.

The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC0WRXRrp2w

11

Wow… this guys testimony is amazing. He actually was writing music for satan when God delivered him! From Elvis to today… Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die.

The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p0MruAg8wM

12

More mind-blowing footage about Elvis, Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, and other stars that masked themselves as harmless. Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die.

The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yusiv3JDng

13

Singers like Spice Girls and Brittney Spears teach children to reject God’s laws and their parents laws like “Keep your mouth shut Keep your legs shut” Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die.

The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJCWydWB9tY

15

The Truth about Elvis Presley… he was not a Christian. His bodyguards, the “Memphis Mafia” reveal his demonic forces and deception.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX7FJgtOti8

16

The Truth about Elvis Presley… he was not a Christian. He was deep into occult and actually thought he was a false christ and read from satanist Madame Blavatsky at his concerts! Also notice how SIMILAR Michael Jackson’s life ended the same way Elvis did – with PILLS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8AOzOvXwu4

17

More on Elvis… and Jerry Lewis actually condemns himself to Hell, he thought he sold his soul to satan. I wish he had repented before he died. Same thing with Little Richard. They don’t know how merciful Jesus Christ is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0wHc10VGMw

19

Most rock & roll artists have been influenced by Aliester Crowley… he taught drugs, sex, and “Imma Do Me.” In order to promote satanism and the Anti-Christ. How Timothy Leary and the Beatles helped spread satanism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6vLnAYjK2A

20

How Aliester Crowley sowed seeds of satanic discipleship (Harry Hayes and Dr. Alfred Kinsey) for the sexual revolution and how promotion of homosexuality and the rape of little boys is related to the Anti-Christ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnNkmNPptk0

21

HOw the Beatles promoted satanism under the influence of Aliester Crowley… they brought yoga (yoking yourself to a demon) to America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGy0Sk80amQ

22

“Making Movies is casting spells…” how the Rolling Stones and the Beatle helped promote satanism in 1967…. the end of this is DEEP!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgOzb_1wjig

23

Let’s look at the FRUIT of satanism, idolatry, and rebellion against God, from 1967. NOT Freedom- addictions, broken lives, sexual diseases, suicides, abortions, and broken families

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRcHT14oQr8

25

How drugs are related to witchcraft. Jimi Hendrix testifies to his servanthood to satan. Whoever is taken captive to this, there is still time. Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die.

The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDH9j_f0YPk

26

Demon worship and Jim Morrison of The Doors – the connection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6duGqjEFoVQ

27

satan is a lie. Even thru the greatest entertainers (false prophets) in the world. How the Beach Boys created the culture of southern California and created witchcraft music. Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die. The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKmh1mmjHV0

29

Michael Jackson spread sexual perversion and contacted demon spirits for his music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRf7wM6vLuI

31

Kurt Cobain… 90s grunge satanist, (I think he may have gotten saved before he died… Hallelujah!). Also NIN and U2 are covered in here! Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die. The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdWHjFhIvcs

32

U2 and CREED still has time to repent from their sins and trying to decieve Christians into the New World order. U2 is more blasphemous than Marilyn Manson. CREED signed their record deal in blood. Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die. The Mercy of the Lord endures forever, and His Truth endures to every Generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp26vedLKDM

33

Charles Manson, rock musician and mass murderer, a satanist who worked with the Beatles and Beach Boys and taught his family to kill. Jesus Blood is powerful and can still redeem their soul into life, before they die. The Mercy of the Lord endures forever,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqt2DLXDE7c

34

Anton Lavey and the satan worshippers who love Hitler and the soon coming antichrist, and national socialism. This is CRAZY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXs7Xd4JBXA

35

How the music is leading to anti-christ. Son of Sam was a satanist murderer as well, but I heard that he got saved in prison thanks to the mercy of the Lord. He sold himself to the devil but Jesus brought him back!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd3v4tR0sM8

Innovation For All

2009-11-18T15:17:00.000+02:00

Dateline: Havana

Havana? Yes, I’m blogging from Havana, where I am attending the Global Forum for Health Research Annual Conference. This year’s theme—“Innovating for the Health of All”—is perfectly in line with our goals at BVGH to bring capable innovators and technological know-how to global health research and development. Even more exciting, the Forum’s location in Cuba is drawing attention to Latin America at exactly the right moment.

Why does Latin America deserve all eyes and ears right now?

First, a number of diseases endemic to Latin America and the Caribbean are, at long last, gaining important publicity. The poster child example of this is Chagas disease, which was discovered in 1909 by Carlos Chagas, a medical doctor in Brazil. The disease now affects more than 8 million in Latin America and approximately 300,000 in the United States. For decades, the disease was systematically ignored by researchers and patients were offered little in the way of effective treatment. The only drugs that exist today, nifurtimox and benznidazole, both have high toxicities and long treatment times. There is no point of care diagnostic and no test of cure. However, this neglect is beginning to change. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) have embarked on an advocacy campaign around the issue. DNDi is also building a pipeline of drugs to test against the parasite that causes Chagas disease and to help identify clinical trials capacity for drug trials. BVGH is working behind the scenes to make sure that important compounds make it to the relevant players in drug development. The synergy in the global health community around the need to find new and better drugs and diagnostics for Chagas disease—and to treat those patients already affected—makes now an important time for the global health community to gather in Latin America to focus on the need for innovation.

More importantly, Latin America now has a thriving biopharmaceutical sector. Brazil’s well-known generics industry has a long history of success, and public sector research institutions, such as Fiocruz, have strong vaccine capabilities. Fiocruz is building a new translational research facility, and already has an alliance with Genzyme on Chagas disease. In addition, Brazilian President Lula has made innovation a pillar of public policy during his term as president. While Brazil has long been recognized for its growing technological capabilities, other countries in Latin America stand out as well. Mexico is among one of the top ten drug producers in the world, and remains the largest drug exporter in Latin America ($1.5 billion in exports in 2007). In both Brazil and Mexico, there is a growing interesting in innovative pharmaceuticals.

Sadly, less than USD 1 million was spent last year on research and development (R&D) for new drugs for Chagas. But there is a real opportunity here for capable innovators with compounds that could be tested for activity against Chagas to join in the movement that will only grow. These large, mid-size, or small companies could, in partnership, reduce their risks of development. An R&D incentive would also certainly help to fill up the pipeline quickly with a newer generation of drugs. The innovation process that creates novel compounds from good research ideas is still largely not found in the developing world, as was discussed in a very interesting forum held Monday by the Pan American Health Organization. The space is open for drug hunting companies and diagnostic companies to step into. Our Board chair Carl Feldbaum, our VP of Business Development David Cook, former BVGH CEO Chris Earl, and I spent a fair amount of time discussing the value that BVGH could add to solving the problem of Chagas, which causes so much suffering in Latin America. Fueled by cigar smoke (Yes—I did!) we see the opportunity. If you want to see it too—please be in touch with us.

–Melinda Moree is the interim CEO of BVGH

You can contact BVGH by emailing info@bvgh.org, or by calling 202-312-9260.

The De-evolution of Man

2009-11-18T07:47:00.000+02:00

The goal of a horror film is to strike fear in the heart of the watcher. Audiences react in horror to a grotesque scene or a surprise jump in a dark hallway. These fears only last as long as it takes for you to get your scream out. (or jump or whatever you do) However, there is something about zombie movies that comment on the human existence. The zombie is man stripped of whatever makes him human. All that was of value is lost and only the drive to eat remains. While this is make believe, in real life people are afraid of losing themselves. Certain proclivities that a man allows have the potential to overtake him. Man becomes a slave to addiction. (drugs, alcohol, porn, etc.) In pursuit of that one thing families are destroyed, futures are destroyed, children are hurt, and jobs are lost. Everything that was once loved and cared for is gone. The man himself loses who he is. After a while he might come to his senses, but the pieces of his life that formed a coherent whole are lost. He must now pick up what is left and form a new whole.

A good example of this is Jack Torrance in the movie The Shining. His addiction was alcohol. When he drank he became a different person and his anger poured out of him destroying everything around him. He tried as hard as he could to control himself. He stopped drinking and got help. But after taking a job as a caretaker for a huge hotel in the off season, Jack withdraws into his own world in which his family turns against him. In reality they love him, but he sees them as if looking through a tainted window full of betrayal and deceit. Soon he turns against them. Somehow he finds alcohol in the abandoned hotel and acts on every fear within him. His wife and child barely escape with their lives. As they leave, he comes to himself just for a moment, enough to see that any vestige of life that remained within him is hopelessly lost, and he dies in the fruition of his addictions.

The potential of this degeneration lives inside of every man. Like fighting an enemy, we try to keep the evil at bay. Time goes by and weary we give up the fight. Evil then takes what we care for the most and dashes it upon the jagged edges of addictive behavior. Broken, we look at all we lost wishing to God we had kept up the fight when we had the chance.

crank & glass.

2009-11-16T23:37:00.000+02:00

every once in awhile you get a ’sick day’ that is actually pleasurable.

i had one of those days today.

i have lost my voice completely… i can whisper and make weird trumpeter swan noises – but that is about it.

an annoyance – yes.

an excuse to say in bed and read all day – definitely.

i started reading ellen hopkin’s series backwards.

i bought her latest novel ‘tricks’ well on a trip with my roommates to the pharmacy.

i was instantly drawn to ‘tricks’ because of it’s unique cover art.

after reading the book in two nights i suggested it to my sister who already had the previous five books in the series.

tricks is about five different people in five different situations and the trials and tribulations that they go through in their life. the commonality between the characters and their stories is child prostitution.

this book really opened up my eyes to the detrimental situations that teenagers find themselves in and the lengths they will go to survive.

in the author’s note at the end of the book ellen writes; “i am often asked how i decide to write about a certain topic. this one was inspired by a statistic i came across. did you know that the average age of a female prostitute in the united states is twelve years old?”

this statistic floored me, but it didn’t surprise me – especially after reading her book.

i then proceeded onto reading crank & glass (her first two books, glass being the continuation of crank). on various occasions ellen has admitted that these two books are based loosely on her daughter’s experience with the monster (crystal meth). the draw to someone my age may not be there, as the main character is in her mid-teens. the content; however, focuses on the trials and tribulations of a young girl and the horrific encounters she has while doing drugs (rape, pregnancy, being kicked out, withdrawl etc.)

it’s almost fascinating, for someone who has never done the drug, to read about the lifestyles that meth addicts lead. it is by no means glamorous.

not only does ellen draw on the drug issue, she also writes about the insecurities taking place within the main character kristina.

kristina merely wants to be loved, whether that’s love from her degenerate father (who is also a meth addict), or love from the guys she encounters during her drug renegades. it’s easy for the reader to see that she is looking for love in all the wrong places.

after visiting her father and falling in love with adam her second personality develops and the reader meets ‘bree’. bree is the complete opposite of kristina in various ways; she’s a bad ass that kristina finds extremely difficult to ignore. bree becomes kristina’s alter ego when she’s using.. it’s unfortunately because the majority of the issues that kristina encounters are a direct result of bree and ‘the monster’. she ends up getting pregnant (she gets raped while doing meth) and decides to keep the baby; even though it means having to look her rapist in the face every time she looks at her beloved baby. at the end of crank kristina is pulling her life together and off of drugs.. or so it seems.

at the beginning of glass kristina seems to be pulling her life around.. she’s been clean (mostly for the sake of her baby, not so much for personal benefit) for awhile and studying to get her GED. when life starts to get tough she begins using again, but this time she thinks she can control it.

wrong.

the monster takes over her life and kristina’s parents put their foot down and kick her out of the house. with no-one else left to go she takes up residence at her ‘boyfriends’ cousins house (who also happens to be a dealer). she becomes his live in nanny (because his wife left him) and takes care of his two beautiful daughters. she begins using heavily and her life takes a spin for the worse. she ditches her car, loses her son, and eventually gets kicked out of her surrogate home. ‘glass’ follows kristina’s ascent back into hell and demonstrates to readers how truly brutal and detrimental drugs are to ones life.

like i said before the books are an extreme eye-opener, especially to those readers (like myself) who have never ventured into the world of hard drugs.

i’ve started reading ‘impulse’ the next book in ellen’s series.. in total there are six books in the series: crank, glass, burned, impulse, identical and tricks. i suggest these books to anyone who enjoys reading series and love stories that’re extremely unpredictable, dramatic and even somewhat relateable.

check out the books and ellen at www.ellenhopkins.com

Changing Behavior Helps Patients Take Medication as Prescribed

2009-11-16T15:23:00.000+02:00

Taking medication as the doctor prescribes is crucial to improving health. However, 26 to 59 percent of older adults do not adhere to instructions, according to a 2003 study published in Drugs and Aging.

“It is very important for physicians and nurses to move past educating patients about the need for medication and focus on teaching behavior strategies,” said Vicki Conn, associate dean of research and Potter-Brinton professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing. “Implementing these strategies can help older adults take their medications, resulting in better health and well-being.”

The University of Missouri researchers found that behavior-changing strategies have a greater impact on medication adherence than reinforcing the importance of taking medication to patients. Effective strategies include reducing the number of doses taken daily, prescribing medications so they can be taken at the same time as other medications and encouraging the use of pill boxes. Giving patients clear, easy-to-read instructions for the medications also proved to be effective.

There are many reasons older adults have difficulties with medications, Conn said. Vision changes can interfere with reading medication bottles, and arthritis can make it difficult to handle pills and containers. However, the majority of adherence problems are not related to physical health. For example, many people simply forget to take their medications.

“There are approaches to overcome almost all problems,” said David Mehr, co-author of the study. “It makes a huge difference in patients’ adherence and health if they have some type of organized system for taking medication.”

Failure to take prescribed medications can result in costly health interventions, including expensive tests and unnecessary additional prescriptions, Conn said.

Home Instead Senior Care’s medication reminder service can play an important role in helping clients organize their medications.

Home Instead Senior Care will provide outstanding caregivers to help your loved one with personal care, incidental travel, companionship, medication reminders, light housekeeping, and even meal preparation. To learn more, call 248-203-2273 or visit www.homeinstead.com. Home Instead Senior Care is the world’s trusted source of in-home non-commercial personal care and companionship for seniors. Each franchise is independently owned and operated. And remember, to us, it’s personal.