That elusive, will-o’-the-wisp, the G-spot, has been found. It just wasn’t where anyone had looked.

It’s the first anatomic evidence of the G-spot, which has been the subject of controversy for decades, according to Adam Ostrzenski, MD, PhD, of the Institute of Gynecology in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Cat named G-Spot (Not the subject of the article) ---->

Despite intense interest, previous research had not found the spot — largely, Ostrzenski wrote online in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, because surgeons have been looking in the wrong place.

Ostrzenski's research indicates the G-spot is a sac-like structure, measuring 8.1 millimeters long, and made of what appears to be erectile tissue. Ostrzenski located it in the dorsal perineal membrane of the ....... Well, you'll just have to read the article.

It was the worst oil disaster in U.S. history, though for much of the nation, it remained a worrying but distant drama. 

Julie Creppel raises six children here, steps away from the lapping waves of the Gulf of Mexico. Her modest mobile home, on a narrow peninsula roughly an hour and a half south of New Orleans, puts her about as close as anyone to where, two years ago today, a BP offshore drilling operation went terribly wrong, spewing 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf's constant saltwater churn.

Creppel says that for her and her family, the impacts were very clear and very present. The spill, she says -- and the months of efforts to stop it -- made them sick.

One son, 2-year-old Wyatt, struggles with constipation and severe skin rashes, Creppel says. Daughters Kylee and Atrea suffer massive headaches almost daily. Kasie, meanwhile, is due for an electrocardiogram for her heart palpitations. Just about everyone in the house relies on a steady supply of Nasonex nasal spray to clear their permanent congestion. Creppel counts 17 prescriptions filled for the family's ailments just last week.

“It was like a war zone,” Creppel says, recalling the squadrons of military and support planes overhead, the smoky air and the unforgiving chemical stench that characterized the summer of 2010. “When we would walk out on the porch, we couldn’t breathe. Our eyes and throats would burn.”

Creppel's complaints are not unique.....Read more;

The first video is the original ad from the "Sweet Surprise" series of ads by the Corn Refiners Association--  claiming that HFCS is basically no different than regular sugar. The second and third videos present an opposing view.

New government data shows drug-related deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in the United States, theLos Angeles Times reported.

According to research by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 37,485 people nationwide died from drug consumption in 2009, compared to 36,284 who died in traffic accidents.

It's not just street drugs that are the problem. Prescription pain and anxiety drugs now cause more deaths than cocaine and heroin combined, the Times said.

Traffic fatalities, like many major causes of preventable death, are declining, while drug-related deaths are spiking at an alarming rate. Drugs now claim a life every 14 minutes. See Video

At first, nothing happened. But after 10 days, hell broke loose in his hospital room. He began shaking with chills. His temperature shot up. His blood pressure shot down. He became so ill that doctors moved him into intensive care and warned that he might die. His family gathered at the hospital, fearing the worst.

A few weeks later, the fevers were gone. And so was the leukemia.

There was no trace of it anywhere — no leukemic cells in his blood or bone marrow, no more bulging lymph nodes on his CT scan. His doctors calculated that the treatment had killed off two pounds of cancer cells . 

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"I start to think there really is no cure for it, that happiness is an ongoing battle, and I wonder if it isn't one I'll have to fight for as long as I live. I wonder if it's worth it."~Elizabeth Wurtzel

I live in a prison that has windows, no locks, nor keys. My prison stops me from enjoying life. It encompasses me, preventing me from having hope for the future. It chains my dreams with fear. It warps my thoughts with gullibility, innocence, and naivety. It surrounds all of my actions with guilt. It prevents any pride I might have, reminding me that I am broken.

I am the outcome of my life and my life is the outcome of me. I have no strength to fight for myself. I will take all the responsibility. I will take all the heartache. I will take all the resentment. I will keep it in my heart, though I know it not. I will care for it. I will cultivate it in my memories. It will replay like a soundtrack, over and over again. It corrupts, it taints, the vision of myself.

I must see the world through rose colored glass. I must replay those things that drown out the illogical, the confusing, the normal. If I do not, then I will have absolutely no hope. It is only in the ideal that the world is better than I know it, can I persevere in my existence. No one else is broken, what can I not touch like the others. Vague shadows of what I should be like haunt my dreams. They isolate me from those around me. No one is as bad as I. For my sins, I have no excuse. I am broken. How will I be fixed?

Sloth, confusion, anger, sadness, rejection, stupidity, regret, loneliness, filter through my heart like a looped Mp3, daily. There have never been floodgates to my memories. Those things I wish would end, never have. Any purpose for me has long been murdered. The only glimmer of recollection comes from the salvation I offer others. I must not allow another to be damned the way I have been. The only rest my mind finds is in the stringently familiar.  

When I needed parents to cherish me, I had none. When I needed someone to protect me from the violence, there was no succor. Crying out in my pain, the fates exchanged one pain for another. The relief of one agony was exchanged for another.

The resentment, the prejudice, the physical abuse was exchanged for the sexual abuse. The sexual abuse was exchanged for the neglect and physical abuse of the foster care system, just to return back to the deception and abuse from my parents once again.

All of my experiences, all of my pain, replay through my life. The actors have changed, but the script remains the same. My life has corrupted my actions; my actions have corrupted my life. I do good deeds not for unselfish reasons. I do them in the hopes that my act will prevent others from living what is my existence. I strive to help the needy. I work to comfort the broken hearted. I try to give companionship to the lonely. Yet, for all my effort, there are many who have thanked me, but there are none who comfort me. I am abandoned, cast aside once again, like so much litter on the street.

There is no such thing as love. Men have no honor. The truth that is proclaimed has no facts, only distorted opinions of the selfish and fearful. Mankind talks of hope. Hope for good, hope for salvation, hope for tomorrow. There is no hope. Hope is the greatest lie conceived by religion. To have hope is to relinquish the responsibility of personal choice in your own life.

The only faintest truth to hope is in regards to the action that you do this day, this hour, this minute, and this very second. The decision you make this moment will dictate what decision you will make an hour from now. If you choose to follow down the path of bad decisions, then you will be caught in the net of despair. To climb out of the net takes an amazing force of will. That will, all men have if they see fit to make the changes to their lives.

The local drug dealer, the car thief, the drunk, I can easily look to them and excuse their behavior. It is in the prostitutes and the forgotten children of the world that I find purpose. They all have reasons for their confusions, their distortions, and their emotions. Some sort of abuse, a past trauma, that has taken a perfectly meaningful life and destroyed their vision, starved their hope, and ruined their personal salvation.

I cannot let anyone in my life. Those who I have in the past have found fault with me. As my wife went out the door she made two remarks that still pain me greatly:

"I do not even know why I stayed with you this long. You’re boring. Instead of going out and having fun, all you do is work on the computer and watch the same anime. You are too shy. You only know how to speak about work. Besides, why would I want to stay with a loser like you? You probably won't live past 40 anyway with your medical issues. I still have plenty of living to do then to waste it with someone who won't be with me when I get old."

Her comment echoes through my head like a mighty oracle. Each minute brings her prophecy about my life closer to fruition. Fleeting are the joys that we had shared together. I had always thought she enjoyed going to the museums, restaurants and downtown life of Seattle. I was never one for dancing; I am more of a ball room dancer. Something much more intimate than gyrating my hips with every other person in the group.

The years of abuse I took from her, and the way I abused her back through my neglect still weigh heavily on my conscience. I did not mean to neglect her; I only sought safety from the illogical, the unexpected, and the uncontrollable. Thoughts, emotions, changes, the randomness of life constantly bombard, assail, and distract me. What do I do when I am not prepared? What does it mean to be prepared? What if I think I am prepared but I am not? What will I do?  

I have no family, no friends, no wife, no loves, no one to express my heart the passions that burn within my breast. So I continue on, showing my love on a limited basis to those that need it most. It is in the helping of the abandoned that I can find the only purpose for continuing my sad, lonely, isolated existence. There are none that want me; there is none who will have me. I have not yet learned how to love myself. At least, I can love others.

"For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else."~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Early detection and better treatments are having an impact on cancer death rates, said Shapira, who was not involved in the report. "More people are living with cancer... We are doing better than we did," she said.

Ahmedin Jemal, strategic director of cancer surveillance at the American Cancer Society, added that a decline in the rate of smoking among Americans is also responsible for the drop in deaths from cancer.

 

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"This method of deriving neuronal progenitors from embryonic stem cells offers a safe, highly scalable and efficient process for both therapeutic and commercial use. Neuronal progenitors have the potential to revolutionize neuronal drug discovery, and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as spinal cord injury, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and many more."

 

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Psychiatrists convened in sunny Honolulu for the 164th Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association(APA) last week, discussing, among other things, moving forward with plans to make the diagnostic criteria for ADHD less stringent: proposed changes include reducing the number of required symptoms from 6 to 4, for adults and teens, and increasing the age-of-onset criteria from 7 to 12.

A year after the BP disaster there is widespread complaints of nosebleeds, GI pain, memory loss, persistent coughing, skin lesions and other serious conditions. But where's the help?

Contrary to many national stories covering the one-year anniversary of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a health crisis in the region has developed among exposed workers and residents. And it's not so "mysterious."

In recent meetings with public health, medical and chemical experts in Louisiana -- the Gulf state hardest hit by the worst offshore oil spill in history -- AlterNet found a striking symmetry between debilitating chronic symptoms being reported among those sickened and the known effects of chemicals in the toxic brew of oil, dispersant and burned crude to which they were exposed.

The previous ten presidents were staunch prohibitionists. Meanwhile, Obama has taken the federal hand off the scale quite a bit.

In October 2009, the Justice Department declared that prosecuting medical-marijuana users and caregivers who clearly comply with state laws was not a wise use of its resources. That declaration has dominated public perception of President Barack Obama's policy on the issue-minimal progress, but is a welcome improvement on his predecessors.

However, ..........

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the federal government can continue to fund research involving human embryonic stem cells, a significant legal victory for the Obama administration.

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A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 41% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the federal government should establish a single standard for all health care regulations.

However, slightly more voters (45%) say states should be allowed to establish their own individual standards for health care regulation. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided.

More than half the states are challenging the constitutionality of the new health care law in court, many focusing on the requirement that every American must have health insurance.

The principal of school on Chicago's West Side, forbids students from bringing food from home (except those students with a medical excuse) after she noticed kids eating "flaming hot" chips and drinking soda at lunchtime. "It's milk versus Coke," she said.

The policy has been in place for six years, however it made headlines this week when the Chicago Tribune wrote about the controversy surrounding the plan as part of its ongoing coverage of the changing school lunch.

As part of First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign, school lunches everywhere will soon undergo a dramatic makeover thanks to Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, signed by President Obama last December. The act allows the government more power to decide what foods can be offered in school lunches, school vending machines and at fundraisers during school hour

Should schools be allowed to force students to eat cafeteria lunches?

At what point should elderly drivers be taken off the road?

America Online reports that elderly drivers now make up almost 20 percent of all motorists. And that number is growing as the Baby Boomers age. It's no surprise that one recent survey shows almost one in 10 adults are worried about an older family member driving.

Experts say the top thing is to understand the importance of mobility for the elderly. Driving gives them a huge sense of independence and autonomy.

They suggest if you're worried about a family member's driving, you should take a ride with them and watch. And then, if necessary, have a conversation about it - a sensitive topic, for sure.

See articles for some things to look out for when a senior citizen gets behind the wheel:

Many nutritionists claim that table sugar -- a molecule composed of one part fructose to one part glucose -- is no better than food-grade high fructose corn syrup.

It's been ages since I've reached for a Mountain Dew, but when PepsiCo introduced its Throwback line of "retro" sodas in 2009, I was tempted. Its "real sugar" sweetener seemed much more appealing than the high-fructose corn syrup that's been ubiquitous in sodas since the mid-1980s. Clearly, I wasn't alone. Catering to the sensibilities of the marketplace, Starbucks, Snapple, Kraft, and food giant ConAgra have all recently ditched HFCS in favor of sugar. This sea change hasn't escaped the notice of the Corn Refiners Association. Last September, after blowing more than $30 million on ads aimed at saving corn syrup's faltering rep (if you think HFCS is any worse than sugar, "You're in for a sweet surprise!"), the trade group finally threw in the towel and petitioned the FDA to let it rebrand its product as "corn sugar."*

Chase Britton, now 3 years old, was born prematurely, and he was legally blind. When he was 1 year old, doctors did an MRI, expecting to find he had a mild case of cerebral palsy. Instead, they discovered he was completely missing his cerebellum -- the part of the brain that controls motor skills, balance and emotions.

Chase also is missing his pons, the part of the brain stem that controls basic functions, such as sleeping and breathing. There is only fluid where the cerebellum and pons should be, Britton said.

"There are some very bright, specialized people across the country and in Europe that have put their minds to this dilemma and are continuing to do so, and we haven't come up with an answer," Dr. Adre du Plessis, chief of Fetal and Transitional Medicine at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., told Fox News affiliate WGRZ.

"So it is a mystery."

Early detection and early treatment are of vital importance to the successful treatment of various cancers. The development of a novel screening method that is as economical and non-invasive as the faecal occult blood test (FOBT) for early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) is needed. A study was undertaken using canine scent detection to determine whether odour material can become an effective tool in CRC screening.

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Actual ad that ran on TV.

"The Corn Refiners Association decided to 'show' high-fructose corn syrup was as safe as sugar. It's no different than the Tobacco industry telling us nicotine isn't addictive.

"In the late 20th century, along came aerobics, isometrics, Richard Simmons, Dr. Atkins, and a nonstop barrage of exercise gadgets, all of which have left the average person dazed, confused, and in worse shape then ever! So what really works? Here are some helpful tips for getting in shape and becoming a healthier person.

"Former President Bill Clinton, reputed for his legendary consumption of snack foods, has made a surprise move. In an effort to drop weight before his daughter Chelsea's (vegan) wedding, the father of the bride gave up meat and dairy products, becoming a vegan. (He admits to eating fish on rare occasions.)

"There was more behind his decision than dropping a few tuxedo sizes, though: Clinton has a history of heart problems. He underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2004 and had two coronary stents implanted in February

Move over, sports drinks and soda, the Carrots are coming!

A high school in southwestern Ohio has installed an all-carrot vending machine.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Mason High School's veggie vending machine is part of a national campaign to package and market baby carrots like junk food.

A new television advertisement that singles out McDonald's for obesity-related deaths is causing quite the stir.

The ad, by an advocacy group that opposes using animals for research, is to air Thursday mainly on cable TV in the Washington, D.C., area because of what its sponsors say are the high rates of obesity and concentrations of fast-food restaurants in the nation's capital. Not to mention the lobbyists, lawmakers and administration officials who are dealing with food issues related to fighting obesity — a cause that Michelle Obama, the first lady, has championed.

The authors of the study argue that the root of all these tasks involves making a probabilistic inference, where complete information is missing, so people have to make a best guess based on known odds. Video gaming, in their view, increases the efficiency at which people can process the odds and make an accurate decision—gamers simply can do more with less. As a result, any task of this sort sees benefits.

Faced with a crisis more than a decade ago in which thousands of people were sickened from salmonella in infected eggs, farmers in Britain began vaccinating their hens against the bacteria. That simple but decisive step virtually wiped out the health threat.

But when American regulators created new egg safety rules that went into effect last month, they declared that there was not enough evidence to conclude that vaccinating hens against salmonella would prevent people from getting sick. The Food and Drug Administration decided not to mandate vaccination of hens — a precaution that would cost less than a penny per a dozen eggs.

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In a huge overreach, a federal judge has decided that the legal interpretation that has governed federal support of embryonic stem cell research for more than a decade is invalid. If the ruling stands, it will be a serious blow to medical research.

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If you're not measuring your waist more often than you step on the scale, you didn't get YouDocs "waist is more important than weight" message the first 100 times they said it.

A nine-year study recently found that, regardless of weight, not only do older people with extra-large waists double their risk of dying sooner, but the link is strongest in normal-weight women!

What should be in your fridge?
What should be on your "must do" list?
How does your stress level effect your weight?

The answers may be more important than you think.

Size counts. Get out your tape measure.

Approximately 400,000 infants still get HIV/AIDS from their mothers each year despite the availability of drugs that can block "nearly all" mother-to-child transmission, researchers reported Tuesday.

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Ten years after President Bill Clinton announced that the first draft of the human genome was complete, medicine has yet to see any large part of the promised benefits.

For biologists, the genome has yielded one insightful surprise after another. But the primary goal of the $3 billion Human Genome Project — to ferret out the genetic roots of common diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's and then generate treatments — remains largely elusive. Indeed, after 10 years of effort, geneticists are almost back to square one in knowing where to look for the roots of common disease.

Dr. Bruce Walker, a Harvard Medical School professor said, "This is the first time that there's been a tool that women can use to protect themselves from becoming infected, "It's a game changer."

After two decades in which researchers searched fruitlessly for an effective vaginal microbicide to block H.I.V., South African scientists working in two AIDS-devastated communities of South Africa, one rural and one urban, say they have finally found something that shows real promise.

In the next 40 years, the world is going to need a 70 percent increase in food production to feed a population that will be billions larger and considerably wealthier than it is today.

Where is that food going to come from? Dutch entomologist Marcel Dicke has at least a partial answer in the six-legged creatures we call insects.

Take another look at the locust; Dicke thinks we should think of it as the "shrimp of the land," a delicacy that people should prize.

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Three square meals a day is so yesterday.

Today snacking is in, and more substantial snacks at that — from mid-morning iced chocolate coffee drinks with whipped cream to mid-afternoon chicken wraps to happy hour half-priced appetizers and late-night tacos and hamburger sliders.

Consumers are turning to snacks as a more convenient way to wolf down food on the run, to take care of a craving, relieve stress or boredom, or just because they need a quick energy boost, according to surveys by market research firm the NPD Group.
[By JOYCE SMITH-The Kansas City Star]

Should doctors, pharmacists and other health care workers have the right to refuse to provide services that conflict with their religious beliefs?

In the past few years, new cases have emerged that have raised questions about the tensions between individuals' rights of conscience and the need to protect certain groups against discrimination, notably gays and lesbians.

The article reviews an interview and debate;
Featuring:
Ira "Chip" Lupu, F. Elwood and Eleanor Davis Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School
Robert W. Tuttle, David R. and Sherry Kirschner Berz Research Professor of Law and Religion, The George Washington University Law School
Interviewer:
David Masci, Senior Research Fellow, Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life

...rates of the most severe type of heart attack dropped by 62 percent, according to the study, published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine...

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No one appears to contest the efficacy of his treatment; the problem, the film suggests, is a pharmaceutical industry with nothing to gain — and much to lose — from the introduction of a highly successful, nontoxic competitor to chemotherapy and radiation.

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Environmental carcinogens are responsible for a far greater number of cancers than previously believed -- a fact that suggests eradicating these environmental threats should be a priority for President Obama -- according to the report of a presidential advisory panel.

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Not long ago, a team of researchers watched a 1-year-old boy take justice into his own hands. The boy had just seen a puppet show in which one puppet played with a ball while interacting with two other puppets. The center puppet would slide the ball to the puppet on the right, who would pass it back. And the center puppet would slide the ball to the puppet on the left . . . who would run away with it. Then the two puppets on the ends were brought down from the stage and set before the toddler. Each was placed next to a pile of treats. At this point, the toddler was asked to take a treat away from one puppet. Like most children in this situation, the boy took it from the pile of the "naughty" one. But this punishment wasn't enough — he then leaned over and smacked the puppet in the head.

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Myth: The more fiber you eat, the better
Myth: You should always remove chicken skin before eating
Myth. Added sugar is always bad for you.
Myth. Eating eggs raises your cholesterol levels
Truth: Beer, wine, and liquors all confer the same health benefits
Truth: Healthy deep-fried food is not an oxymoron
There's more; Read article

The Attorneys General in 13 states (12 of them Republicans) filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the health-care bill minutes after President Barack Obama signed the landmark legislation into law., claiming that the new law's requirement for all Americans to buy health insurance is unconstitutional. However, several noted law professors said that there are significant legal hurdles in establishing the states' standing to challenge the health-care law and in persuading federal judges that it violates the Constitution.

Some opponents of the new law argue that Congress's mandate that individuals must purchase insurance from private vendors is unprecedented, because uninsured individuals aren't participating in commerce. Many constitutional law experts, however, said that the health insurance mandate is clearly within Congress' reach under the Constitution.

Authorized by Congress in 2000, the National Children's Study began last January, its projected cost swelling to about $6.7 billion. With several hundred participants so far, it aims to enroll 100,000 pregnant women in 105 counties, then monitor their babies until they turn 21.

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In mice prone to an animal form of Alzheimer's disease, long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation typical of cell phones slowed and reversed the course of the illness, according to Gary Arendash of the University of South Florida in Tampa and colleagues.

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Since 1996, the Richmond area has lost more than 600 of its hospital beds, mostly because of state regulations on capacity. Several hospitals have closed, and others have shrunk. In 1996, the region had 4.8 hospital beds for every 1,000 residents. Today, it has about three. Hospital care has been, in a word, rationed.

...The quality of care in Richmond is better than in most American metropolitan areas, according to various measures, and it continues to improve. Medicare data, for example, shows that Richmond hospitals do a better-than-average job of treating heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia.

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The July 1998 issue of The American Journal of Medicine explains it as follows:

"Conservative calculations estimate that approximately 107,000 patients are hospitalized annually for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related gastrointestinal (GI) complications and at least 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur each year among arthritis patients alone." (Singh Gurkirpal, MD, "Recent Considerations in Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Gastropathy", The American Journal of Medicine, July 27, 1998, p. 31S)

So for every person the CDC claims was killed by H1N1 swine flu this year, common painkillers like aspirin have killed four! Yet you don't see the CDC, FDA, WHO or mainstream media running around screaming about the extreme dangers of aspirin, do you? All those deaths apparently don't matter. Only swine flu deaths lead to hysteria.

The NicVAX vaccine prompts the immune system to create antibodies that bind to the nicotine molecules in the blood. The now-larger molecules are prevented by their size from crossing the blood-brain barrier. Trapped outside the brain, the bound nicotine can't reach the receptors that trigger the release of dopamine. No dopamine, no pleasure.

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..the Iowa cat's case reinforces just how different H1N1 is from the seasonal flu viruses. Although some household cats and certain wild cats in zoos have gotten ill with avian influenza, and dogs have their own canine version of the flu virus, pets don't normally get sick with the regular human flu. "There has never been a report of human seasonal influenza affecting cats or dogs,"

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Are vaccines today more dangerous, in some cases, than the diseases? Has something gone wrong with the system or the companies making them?

Filmed at the 4th International Public Conference on Vaccinations (sponsored by the Nat'l Vaccine Information Center) in October, 2009, listen to what these health professionals have to say!

Generating electricity by burning coal is responsible for about half of an estimated $120 billion in yearly costs from early deaths and health damages to thousands of Americans from the use of fossil fuels, a federal advisory group said Monday.

A one-year study by the National Research Council looked at many costs of energy production and the use of fossil fuels that aren't reflected in the price of energy. The $120 billion sum was the cost to human health from U.S. electricity production, transportation and heating in 2005, the latest year with full data.

The report also looks at other hidden costs from climate change, hazardous air pollutants such as mercury, harm to ecosystems and risks to national security, but it doesn't put a dollar value on them.

"We would characterize our estimate as an underestimate," because it didn't include those other costs, said Jared Cohon, the president of Carnegie Mellon University and the chairman of the committee that produced the report.

In a study that appears in the September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,

a group of 2,606 participants (48% women) just over 74 years on average, specifically screened for declining cognition and dementia, investigators found that each year of increasing age was associated with declines in thinking abilities, regardless of gender and found no association between coffee consumption and declining cognition or dementia scores in either men or women.

President Obama told Congress that his healthcare overhaul would cost $900 billion over 10 years. Where does that figure come from?..............

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who has been working on a bill designed to attract moderates in both parties, has indicated his legislation should cost about $900 billion.

We have the highest quality health care in the world.

Look no further than Minnesota's Mayo Clinic, which is a world-class destination for care. But high costs put health care out of reach for millions of Americans, especially middle-class families that make too much for government subsidies but struggle to pay the bills. Similarly, small-business owners struggle because they cannot use big business' economies of scale to get affordable coverage.
[Michelle Bachmann]

C

Confused by all the back and forth on health care reform?

Here's a guide from CNN to some of the terms commonly tossed about in the debate.

Being a vegetarian protects you from cancer, claim scientists in a wide-ranging study which found cutting out meat can reduce the risk of some types of the disease by half.

More than 61,000 people aged between 20 and 89, roughly half of whom were vegetarian, were followed for more than 12 years in the British arm of the research which is supported by Cancer Research UK.

"The moderate drinkers tend to do everything right — they exercise, they don't smoke, they eat right and they drink moderately," said Kaye Middleton Fillmore, a retired sociologist from the University of California, San Francisco, who has criticized the research. "It's very hard to disentangle all of that, and that's a real problem."

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This Soil Association 68 page report is the first to reveal the serious widespread impacts of GM crops in North America on the food and farming industry, where three-quarters of the world's GM food is grown. It is the most comprehensive review of the situation to be produced from a non-biotechnology industry perspective.

European and African countries, some gripped in a struggle against famine, have banned these foods from entering their markets. The breadbasket of America is being rejected, for good reason. American food exports are lower then they have been in 30 years, but our productions are up. Why? Because the Genetically Modified Foods may be poisoning us!

Widespread resistance to GM food has resulted in a global showdown. U.S. exports of genetically modified corn and soy are down, and hungry African nations won't even accept the crops as food aid. Monsanto is faltering financially and is desperate to open new markets. The U.S. government is convinced that EU resistance is the primary obstacle and is determined to change that. On May 13, 2003, the U.S. filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO), charging that the European Union's restrictive policy on GM food violates international agreements.

Today I received and email from someone who read one of my comments about Chronic Illness. I have removed any personal information. I found his letter rather touching. I felt compelled to reach out to this honorable gentleman.

He wrote:

"I enjoyed your post Dan, maybe because it hit home in my case, Why? well I can't put my finger on it exactly but must admit I blame it on my wife's illness.

I am her main caregiver, she has severe Arthritis which has put her in a wheelchair, she has Fibromyalga [forgive my spelling] so she sleeps on the couch as she can rest her back against the back cushions and reduce some of the pain her pain tablets don't relieve, she is on kidney dialysis three times a week, is a diabetic and also has a skin cancer on her neck that is being treated with radiation. I push her to the john and around the house [even though she has an electric wheelchair she refuses to use] I fix us T.V. meals, buy the groceries and spend an average of $500.00 a month on 14 or 15 prescription drugs, the only place we ever go is to a hospital,clinic, or doctor's office.

I'm sick of the whole mess, and feel guilty for being physically well and knowing that she is the one with the problems and I should be grateful I'm not, and that doesn't help, I just want to get away from it all and back to between 10 and 12 years ago when I rode my bicycle my age each birthday in one day until I reached the age of 76 when my wife became sicker and I was afraid I might get hit by a car and would be unable to care for her, I sold my bass boat because my fishing buddy died and I lost interest fishing alone. My only reason for living now is to care for my wife. I'm 84 and she is 83 it's time for both of us to get out of here, I should have been killed during WW2 as I spent three years in it, two of which was spent in combat.

I no longer have a desire to live as my friends and relatives [except my daughter] are all dead and I look forward to the day one of us leaves this world, If my wife leaves first I believe I will follow shortly after as I have no desire to put my only daughter (57) through what we have gone through the past 14 years, I still have enough money in the bank so she could pay off her home or move to a better one rather than put up with a sick old man as it will only be a matter of time before I'll be needing the same help I have been giving her mother, Yes I know if I took my own life she would feel bad for a short time, but lets face it we are all going to die sometime and I would rather she had what little money I have left then to give it to the Dr's, Pharmacies,and Hospitals. When your 84 believe me there is no longer a light at the end of the tunnel and the desires and motivations are all used up.

Have a Good Life While You Are Still Able."

I had to respond to this very touching letter.

Dear #$%^&.

"While we have the gift of life, it seems to me the only tragedy is to allow part of us to die --whether it is our spirit, our creativity or our glorious uniqueness."~Gilda Radner

Your weariness comes across the miles between us. Your love, your honor, your commitment to your wife is truly heartbreaking, and inspiring. I am but 35 years of age, and 6 years ago, my wife left me, partially because of my illnesses. One of the things she said while leaving was that she did not expect me to live passed 40.

Your strength is a true testament to your faith, faith in yourself, faith in your wife, faith in your family, and faith in your god, especially in this day and age. We live in the age of convenience, we throw away relationships just like we throw away bubblegum when it loses flavor.

When it comes to dealing with people who have chronic conditions, whether they be mental or physical, the caregivers take a hefty emotional toll. Quite often, the full effect of the emotional toll is not fully realized.

Every morning you wake and go to your living room. As you gaze upon your wife, your remember how she once was. On your your first date, the day your proposed, when you got married, and a number of other thoughts that flow through your mind. Then you have to snap back to reality. The painful truth that brings you fear. She is probably going to die before you. As you said above, your friends and relatives have all gone before her. With the exception of your daughter, without your wife, you would be alone. This is the harsh truth of your existence at the moment, but it does not need to be so.

Here are two links containing a very informative article about "caregiver burnout:"

http://www.helpguide.org/elder/caring_for_caregivers.htm

http://www.alz.co.uk/carers/yourself.html

It contains a lot of tips that could help people on your, or anyone else's situation. I cannot stress the importance of social networking. I mean real life, face to face, conversation with people that have nothing to do with any of the personal issues going on at home. You have made you wife, your world. She probably also realizes this as well. You may try to put on your best face, but she is probably aware of your situation and feels bad about it, as well.

My friend, do not allow your house to be your tomb. You are still alive, she is still alive, and limitations are a part of life. So you learn to work around those limitations. Just because you are older and your wife has medical issues does not mean that you two do not want company and friends. You both would enjoy having someone come over and play chess, checkers, bridge, or any other games that all can enjoy. I had to come to that realization myself concerning my situation.

After my wife left me, what little purpose I had disappeared. I rented an apartment and waited for death. Seriously, I could find no real purpose to my existing. I was hopeless. I suffer from chronic depression, diabetes, epilepsy, and arthritis. I felt I had no hope for a meaningful existence, because I lost the only family I ever had.

Fortunately, in my despair, one of my personality quirks was still prevalent. I have this horrible habit of helping people. The problem is, when your are wallowing in depression, it is hard to be depressed when you are actively helping someone out of their problems. Helping others tends to give me a different perspective on my own problems. It also has another benefit, you start developing relationships.

Out of my loneliness, my one simple act of helping had started a friendship with my neighbor across the hall. Then she introduced my to the guy a few doors down. So on and so on, the seed of compassion grew into the vine of friendship that stretched further and further out to more people.

From there, I ended up volunteering for the "Boys And Girls Club," finding a better job, and expanding my horizons further.

You are doing your life and your wife a disservice by not varying your lifestyle, by not allowing people into your circumstances, and by putting so much social value on her.

You two are an island amongst a sea of people. Jump in, the waters fine!!!

"You can learn new things at any time in your life if you're willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you."~Barbara Sher

I will keep you in my prayers. You can get ahold of me anytime you want, to laugh, to cry, or just to chew the fat. Well, not chew the fat, I am on a diet.

With Care and Concern,
Daniel Slack

"Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all."~Bill Clinton

An Emotional Handicap is defined as a condition resulting in persistent and consistent mal-adaptive behavior, which exists to a marked degree, which interferes with the student's learning process, and which may include but not be limited to any of the following characteristics:

* An inability to achieve adequate academic progress which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
* An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
* Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
* A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
* A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

"To ignore the evidence, and hope that it cannot be true, is more an evidence of mental illness"~William blasé

Unfortunately, identifying emotional handicaps can be problematic. Part of the problem is that parents and teachers often mistake the individual signs as rebellious behavior in an early age. Teachers claim the child "does not want to pay attention in school." The parents try to enforce their discipline by increasing stricter and stricter consequences.

As the child grows, his symptoms are exacerbated, by punishments at home and at school. In his heart, he may feel overwhelming joy, miserable sadness, and debilitating anger. The outcome often ends up being punishment for the expression of his feelings. Just as there is more than one way to teach a child, there is just as many ways for your child to express emotion satisfactorily.

By punishing the child for the actions he is using to express his emotion, without talking with him and showing him appropriate forms of expression tuned toward his own personal preferences, we are driving his ability to feel further and further away. It causes him to associate his emotions primarily with pain. But all men have a feeling heart, and his emotions will eventually turn into outbursts, and the child will not even know why. This, in turn, angers the parents and teachers even further, and they call him "special," a behavioral problem, or any number of other labels available to adults.

There are two factor when dealing with children and their emotions, that adults forget:

The first factor is that children are still developing their language skills. They are just learning how to use language, so expressing complex feelings can be problematic. A child can say to you "I hurt," "I feel bad," or "I am sad," but this does little to really explain the who, what, when, where, and why of emotion.

The second factor is that children are impulsive by nature. Being impulsive, they will grab onto and revel in anything that brings him joy, regardless of consequence. We see this all the time. Put a candy bar on the table and leave the room. Unless he has been taught a certain etiquette, your child will grab the candy bar. As a child, you only feel the need and fill the need immediately, not realizing that temporary satiation of the need will not mean it is solved forever. As adults, we learn the benefits of time management and planning.

The way the child learns best may also be a key to understand the best way for him to express his emotions. Check out my two articles on the subject:

http://daniel-slack.newsvine.com/_news/2008/12/08/2192980-americas-children-how-they-learn-and-how-we-can-make-teaching-better-part-1

http://daniel-slack.newsvine.com/_news/2009/05/20/2842214-depression-why-couldnt-i-detect-my-childs

"You must always be puzzled by mental illness. The thing I would dread most, if I became mentally ill, would be your adopting a common sense attitude; that you could take it for granted that I was deluded."~Ludwig Wittgenstein

From the second grade to the fourth grade, I was considered "slow." I was in special education classes, school counseling and the like. My parents told me I was "special," my teachers called me "special," I actually started feeling like it was true. As someone who is disabled, I despise the word special. I have always striven to be normal. I wanted to be like everyone else. I felt like an outcast, both in with family and at my school.

Then, the best thing in the world happened to me. My fourth grade summer I was grounded to my room. The WHOLE summer, I had to find a means of entertaining myself. I tried writing, reading fiction, drawing. That only lasted for two weeks. During my incarceration, I was inspired. In my room was a set of encyclopedias. They were the 1980 World Book Encyclopedia. I made up my mind to read them, from A-Z, page by page.

Never before had I ever found so much joy in learning. To discover the evolution of language, history of civilization, trigonometry, geometry, chemistry, biology. All in an easy to understand format. During this most educational exploration I discovered why I was bored in school. It was because the publishers of educational texts put an abundance of boring filler material within the pages

The next year was rather interesting. I was considered a disciplinary problem for a different reason. I was correcting teacher for misinformation they were presenting to the students. It all came to a head when my Fourth Grade Teacher tried to tell us that the Femur was the Humerous and vice versa. The health book had a misprint, but the teacher felt it was not right for the students to correct her.

Suddenly I felt normal, I felt average, I felt POWERFUL. No longer was I an ignorant student following society through the world. Suddenly I was an explorer on a lone crusade for fact, theory, and truth about "Life, The Universe, And Everything!" By Douglas Adam Published By Harmony Books. (LOL)

This bonus from this did not last long, though. Suddenly, the same tests that determined that I was Emotionally Handicapped and Learning Disabled now showed that I was extremely bright and at college levels for most of my knowledge The decision was made that the following year I would be placed into a gifted program.

Suddenly, the shame my parents felt became pride. For a brief period, I could here my mother talking to people about how I was not "special," but "gifted." Unfortunately, they did not take into account that I was never taught proper study habits. I was not taught how to handle the stress of test taking. Most importantly, because of my special education schooling previously, I did not know how to properly socialize with the students.

There was a big difference from special education classes and the gifted program. In the Emotionally Handicapped classes, there were proud at the knowledge you could learn. They were uplifting for, the most part. They were supportive of my needs, whether I needed a break form the stresses of the day to my problematic organizational skills.

In the gifted program, the teachers were very impressed with my knowledge. At first, they were impressed with my ability. One of the teachers had given a spontaneous IQ test and she bragged that I had scored almost as high as she did, 164.

Socially though, I was a mess. I could not handle the jealousies that the other students had. The ones that were once the smartest in class, were constantly testing and teasing me. I was never strong in Mathematics, and they made sure that everyone knew it. They would make comments like, "How could a computer programmer not do multiplication tables in his head?" I was not prepared for their school not the real world through special education.

The ultimate result of my excursion into gifted classes was a further diminished perception of myself, a further separation of my intellectual and my emotional self, and a complete lack of confidence in social situations. The lessons of this episode of my life, and many others, have left their mark on me.

Many people find me recessed emotionally. What they do not understand is me recession is based upon the level of emotional pain that you could cause me. When I laugh, I laugh hard. When I love, I love hard. When I cry, I am ashamed. When I am the most distant is when I hurt the most.

Even to this day, I try to be sociable, but I am haunted. There was a time that I was in love. I stayed with the my first love, my only love, for 12 years. The plan was that we both would graduate form college and then marry. I guess part of being emotionally handicapped also means that it takes longer for the wounds of emotional pain to heal.

It seems the fact of Pavlovian Response is proven in my life. I maybe smart, but that is no substitution for being lonely. Recently, someone who has had an interest in said this to me:

"What about you though? Who cares what society says? I care and I want to care more and about someone and people.
Has anyone ever told you they feel you are talking AT them and not TO them? That's how I feel when I read your letters. As smart as you are and obviously a great writer and researcher, you don't seem very open to actually having a human conversation with me.
Relax honey...it's not always sooooooo serious.
I do want to get to know you....if that's possible ya know. You're a good catch if I can get in your head (at least a little)... ;)"

"The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you."~Rita Mae Brown

"How idiotic civilization is! Why be given a body if you have to keep it shut up in a case like a rare, rare fiddle?" ~ Katherine Mansfield, Bliss And Other Stories

The human body, a miraculous collection of the infinitely small with the awareness of the infinitely large. In grade school we are taught that the elemental constituents are worth about $7.00. The chemical and mineral composition of the human body, which breaks down as follows:

65% Oxygen
18% Carbon
10% Hydrogen
3% Nitrogen
1.5% Calcium
1% Phosphorous
0.35% Potassium
0.25% Sulfur
0.15% Sodium
0.15% Chlorine
0.05% Magnesium
0.0004% Iron
0.00004% Iodine

Additionally, it was discovered that our bodies contain trace quantities of fluorine, silicon, manganese, zinc, copper, aluminum, and arsenic. One thing that these elements have that we do not, is the freedom to be themselves.

Walk out to your sidewalk, place a lump of carbon upon it. Wait......

No one will make a ruckus. No one will honk there horns. Children will not laugh at the charcoal on the sidewalk. In fact, no one will even notice it, except the wondering toddler that will think it is a nifty find.

And G-D said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"~Genesis 3:11 NIV

Now, put someone naked on the same sidewalk. Depending on your level of beauty, you will get cajoled by passersby. Mothers will leap out from their houses defending their children from such a vision corrupting their children. School children will point and laugh. People will avoid you. Your mail man will not look you in the eye. Society, on a whole, will project a sense of shame on your person.

I decided I would try to live one day of my life naked, staying in my apartment. I could not believe the experience I had.

The previous night, I had showered and slept naked. That morning I woke up, brushed my teeth hand hair. That was it, I was ready for the day. In my mind I just kept thinking how convenient this was. I had shaved 45 minutes off of my rush in the morning. I could have very easily just spent that time sleeping.

I was feeling a little peckish, so I decided to make breakfast.
"What to have, what to have??"

I decided to have scrambled eggs, toast, and beef sausage. So, I fired up my skillet, poured some oil, and threw in a couple of sausage patties.

NEVER IN MY LIFE HAVE I EVER EXPERIENCED THE AMOUNT OF PAIN AS SOON AS MY SAUSAGES TOUCHED THE SKILLET. The oil flared up and splattered in places I never thought of. When I was thinking of frying sausage, I was not meaning the one found in my nether regions.

I have discovered a hard learned truth in the first hour of my nakedness, the lessons of common sense changes when you are naked. You have be more thoughtful of your body, more protective. It seems that in the effort to clothe our nakedness has made become even less aware of the condition of our bodies. Whether we be fat or thin, muscular or thin, thick or thinned framed, clothes allow us to deceive ourselves and others concerning the thing we can endure.

After sitting back and looking out the window of my second floor apartment, there came a knock at my door. I expected this would eventually happen. Having a naked day would make me confront my modesty and self consciousness.

The man at the door first look shocked and then offended. I could tell by his satchel that he was selling newspaper subscriptions. He looked at me and asserted, "You better get dressed or I will call the cops."

Call the cops? He came knocked on my door. Invading my space, to sell me newspapers. How could anything I am doing be illegal? It appears that any officer responding to reports that an action is against public decency, has the right to order the offender to cease his action, even if it is on private property. Does this mean that if I am using the bathroom, a police officer could conceivably knock on my door and tell to cease and desist as well?

"as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell."~ Philippians 1:20-22

Well, after dealing with the sausage issue and the offended salesman, I thought I had survived the drama of a naked life. I sat down on my sofa, put my feet up and browsed the internet. Then came another knock.

A young lady from across the way had see the conversation with the salesman and told me she did not appreciate me answering my door naked, it is disrespectful. Would I please start putting on some clothes.

I breathed a heavy sigh, looked at my clock, it was still an hour and a half before twelve. I looked deeply into her eyes and told her:

"I am so sorry for the inconvenience of how I made you feel. I was trying to find out what it would be like to live naked. For the sake of being a good neighbor, I will gladly clothe my nakedness. I am sorry once again."

She said thank you, and waved goodbye. She looked backed at me and winked, saying:

"And Don't let it happen again," laughingly.

Well, that is my adventure in nakedness. Unfortunately, it seems the individual components appear to have a lot more freedom than the sum of their parts, especially when it comes to the human body.

"It seems the point of a group society is to forget our individual humanity."~Daniel Slack

A Minnesota judge issued a warrant Tuesday for the arrest of Colleen Hauser after she and her son Daniel failed to appear at a court hearing. Daniel has a highly treatable form of cancer, but he quit chemotherapy after just one session. His parents said he was using "alternative medicines," citing religious reasons. That led state authorities to seek custody of the boy.

" This site vows that the sperm are 100 percent guaranteed ... drug, alcohol, and disease free."~Vincent Gallo

After writing a recent article, I got bombarded with questions about the use of human breast milk (http://daniel-slack.newsvine.com/_news/2009/04/26/2733785-the-milk-of-human-kindness-uses-for-human-breast-milk) . Is it safe, is it tasty, does it really have the healthy benefits they say? Then I received a question I did not expect.

Diane Weaver of Detroit Michigan writes:

"Daniel, I see that you have done a thorough job on your article about breast milk, but I have a question. Is there anything a man produces that can be equally beneficial for humanity, or does all come from women?"

Well, I thought about it, and decided to do a little research. I thought for sure I would come up with something about organ transplant or hormone therapy, but never did I think I would find anything like this.....
..........

A Hari's Salon in London offers clients a 45 minute £55 bull semen conditioning treatment.

The bull sperm is combined with the roots of a plant named Katera which is very rich in protein. Treatment starts with hair shampoo then massaging the hair with the conditioning treatment. Hair is put under a steamer then blow dried.

I can't imagine the smell but the hairdresser made clear that refrigerating it before use keeps the odor down. Hair is made up of protein and protein is what it lacks when it becomes dry. The treatment leaves the hair look soft and thick. The ingredients are protein packed and help penetrate and condition hair shaft. If you like to experiment and give it a try maybe you should come back and comment if it encourages hair growth too. Continued after pictures.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/273624/bizarre_salon_beauty_treatments.html?cat=5
..........

Do you want long, thick, model-like hair with lots of volume and shine without taking a trip to Great Britain? Check Out http://www.kevis.com/

Business is booming in the hair business everywhere, and now there's a new product that contains some sexually explicit contents: SPERM! This is the world's most expensive shampoo: Kevis.

The active ingredient in Kevis is found on the tip of human sperm and costs over $30,000 per kilogram. A cloned version of the hyaluronic acid (IIUCP) found in human sperm is used in Kevis shampoo to add volume to hair.

The modus operandi: just as sperm penetrates an egg, Kevis penetrates the hair cuticle and follicle. A four-ounce bottle of Kevis shampoo sells for $25, opposed to $8 for eight ounces of your average salon-type shampoo.

Kevis also offers a 36-day intensive hair improvement program that consists of the shampoo and scalp treatments to revitalize damaged hair and thicken thin hair. The 36-day program sells for $145 and is guaranteed to work on both men and women.

The most common questions asked are: What does this factory look like? Can I make Kevis at home? To order Kevis products call 1-800-OK-KEVIS or go to http://www.kevis.com/

..........

In Mexico, a face moisturizer made out of semen was launched this week, by former porn star Lyn May, who is in her sixties, is behind the company producing the cream.

May told reporters: "I select attractive young man and pay them for their semen that is mixed with honey and oats to create the moisturizer". She also swears that the Semen moisturizer is capable of erasing wrinkles and leaves skin soft.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1381407.html

..........

According to the Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Albany, the reason why you women are getting moody or depressed is because there is not enough "man" in your diet.

In a sample of sexually active college females, condom use, as an indirect measure of the presence of semen in the reproductive tract, was related to scores on the Beck Depression Inventory. Not only were females who were having sex without condoms less depressed, but depressive symptoms and suicide attempts among females who used condoms were proportional to the consistency of condom use.

For females who did not use condoms, depression scores went up as the amount of time since their last sexual encounter increased. These data are consistent with the possibility that semen may antagonize depressive symptoms and evidence which shows that the vagina absorbs a number of components of semen that can be detected in the bloodstream within a few hours of administration.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2457-semen-acts-as-an-antidepressant.html

http://www.springerlink.com/content/wrkl9lc5ueu43rh8/

..........

Another reason why chocolate and makeup make women happy?

Maritex, among the world's largest producers of cod liver oil, said it aimed to produce seven tons of processed cod sperm in 2002 for the international makeup market after pilot output in 2001.

"It neither smells nor tastes of anything," said Frank Hansen, a biotech engineer at Maritex, which believes it is the world's main producer of cod sperm for cosmetics. The sperm is used to bind water in body lotions and make-up. "It is much better to make a water binder from a natural product than to concoct a chemical cocktail to do the same job," Hansen said.

He added that cod sperm extract was also used in medicines and breast milk substitutes. Processed cod sperm sells for around $200 a kilo (2.2 lbs), depending on its purity, Hansen said.

Fish liver can extend the shelf life of foodstuffs, but cod sperm has proven extremely versatile, also being used in chocolate and to treat salmon according to the fishery research center in Tromsø.

"The addition of proteins from cod 'milk' stimulates the immune system of salmon cells. We have seen the same effect on live salmon, and we believe the result can be tougher, more resistant salmon. Proteins from cod sperm can also be used in chocolate and cosmetics," said researcher Guro Pedersen to the newspaper Nordlys.

http://www.wgsn.com/members/news/dailynews/200202/15/340_2002feb15

````````````````````
For you women that take the above study to heart, you maybe looking for ideas on how to supplement your diet. Paul Photenhauer shares your dream. He had a dream to write a cookbook. His highlighted ingredient? Semen… yes.. semen. Photenhauer's Natural Harvest: A collection of semen based recipes, is available for you, for me, for everyone.

According to Paul ""Semen is not only nutritious, but has a palatable texture and wonderful cooking properties." It's widely available, has a complex flavor and the taste will vary according to the dude's diet.

Some of his recipes include the Almost White Russian, Man Made Oysters and Tuna Sashimi with dipping sauce.

http://www.cookingwithcum.com/

http://www.lulu.com/content/4956212

..........

What's in Semen? It did make me curious, since it does seem to have commercial and medicinal applications in our daily life. Still, it is not the first ingredient I would choose to improve my skin, grow my hair, or make my chocolate more palatable.

Semen contains spermatozoa, but sperm accounts for only a small percentage of spunk. Semen is 90 percent seminal fluid, which is composed of dozens of chemical components. The base of seminal fluid is primarily fructose (sugar) and proteins, with many other trace minerals and substances. Here's a listing of some of semen's ingredients:

Sugars: Fructose, sorbitol, inositol

Proteins and amino acids: glutathione, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), creatine

Minerals: Phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, calcium, potassium

Vitamins: Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), vitamin B12, choline

Hormones: Testosterone, prostaglandins

Body byproducts: Lactic acid, urea, uric acid, nitrogen

Healthy semen may in fact be not only safe to eat, but actually good for you. Seminal fluid is a veritable nutrient-rich soup. Semen is a source of highly concentrated, high-quality protein. In dietary terms, it's comparable to egg whites or gelatin.

Besides protein, semen contains high concentrations of some minerals, such as zinc, and trace amounts of other important nutrients, like calcium and magnesium. While you shouldn't depend on a shot of semen to get your recommended daily allowances of vitamins and minerals, swallowing semen on a regular basis can't hurt as a dietary supplement.

One teaspoon of semen contains about 5 calories, and the average ejaculation produces about a tablespoon of semen, for a total of 15 calories.

..........

Well, that is as much research as I can stand, and I can't stand anymore. Please no more letters telling me how one sided the Milk article was. From now on, I am going to be more careful what I allow in my food, hair and face.

"The only jobs for which no man is qualified are human incubators and wet nurse. Likewise, the only job for which no woman is or can be qualified is sperm donor."~Wilma Scott Heide

"Because of Pride, I could not feel the good you did, nor see the harm I caused. For that, I am sorry."~Daniel Slack

My love for her started from the moment I saw her from afar. Prior to my first day of High School, I had no romantic interests. Then, as if a cinder jumped out of the fire that is humanity, a red-haired brown-eyed mystery, slowly and gradually, burned a hole, wholly through my walls of pride and shame that I kept myself safe with.

As the year progressed, with every step towards the bus stop, the eagerness of my heart for her company grew. Whilst in her company, my world was right, was whole, was beautiful. At the end of the day, We would walk to her house, sit on her lawn, and talk. Not just for minutes, but to the expanse of hours, not realizing that the day was ending. I loved and hated every minute of the setting sun. I felt blessed to have ended my day in her presence, but there were also dire consequences for my choices, as well.

The setting sun signified the time for me to walk home. For me, home was a place to be dreaded, and my perceived rebellious nature further provoked my parents rage. Almost without fail, my parents would assume I was up to no good and I would get beat, grounded, or what ever punishment they felt appropriate for wanting to stay away. There were times where I was accused of doing drugs, hanging with a gang, doing some other interesting contrivance that my mother could create.

Sometimes that resulted in me being chased around the house with shoes, pans, anything that was throwable being aimed for my head. It seemed that my mother had the odd notion that because I was a child, I would want to be hit by whatever was airborne. Unbeknown to her, I have a sincere dislike for pain, or anything that might cause me pain. I guess other parents might have the convenience of children standing still while things fly at them.

Sometimes, if my mother had a particular bad day, I would get spanked. Unfortunately, I was a rather large fellow, early on in life, so spankings were a bit more problematic. They usually involved someone sitting on my back and head restricting my breath, while the other parent had the luxury of spanking me with the belt.

Sometimes, I would be grounded to my room. Now, my room was rather interesting. My room was where the dogs my parents showed were kept. My room was pretty basic, sometimes I had a water bed. Sometimes, I had a mattress on the floor. Most of the time, my entertainment was reading. Well, being a rebellious child, I read what all rebellious children read in my day, the World Book Encyclopedia. In a small way, my punishment was also my blessing. I spent uncountable hours reading the Encyclopedia from A-Z and also the periodic Yearbooks that World Book released to keep updated.

The reality of the situation was that I would have faced millions of parents with an infinite amount of belts, or a hundred years grounded in my room, for the privilege of just spending one more sunset with her. She made my world sunny, she made me seem intelligent, she made me feel valuable, by just sitting on her front lawn and listening to my ranting and raving on a variety of subjects. She had helped me develop a sense of real pride because she taught me that my words were as important as everyone else's.

The sad truth is that I had found a very valuable, rare jewel, amongst the women of the world, and because of my inability to deal with the past experiences of my life, and my driving need to escape the pain I had carried into my present, I could only offer her a lonely, uncertain future. What was worse is that I could not see the pain, mistrust, and temptation that I was driving her into, because of my pride.

Pride can mean many things. The American Heritage® Dictionary defines PRIDE in a number of ways:

"1. A sense of one's own proper dignity or value."
"2. Pleasure or satisfaction taken in an achievement, possession, or association."
"3. Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness."

When we speak of pride, many things come to mind:
Pride in your school,
Pride in your house,
Pride in your team,
Pride in your job,
Pride in your nationality,
Pride in your ethnicity,
Pride in your family,
and Pride in yourself.

Many of us do not realize how we exhibit pride. The things we take pride in, are taught to us from a very early age. Notice in the above quote, the first definition is emotionally neutral, the second is emotionally positive, and the third is emotionally negative. I feel there is a very wise lesson taught by the definitions, alone.

The first definition bespeaks of who we are to ourselves. There are some that believe that self-esteem and pride are interchangeable expressions. Though very similar, they reflect different aspects of the self. Pride is the sense of accomplishment you have for where you are from, what you have done or who you are. Self-esteem is the value you set on these things.

For example, I am a religious man, I am a Computer Technician, I am Native American, and I am a single man. I have listed 4 qualities about my self in the order of esteem I think each of these qualities hold.

The same things might be held in a very different level of importance by someone else. The important difference between "pride" and "self-esteem" is that pride can be individual or shared amongst a whole group in a unified state of being, task, or accomplishment. Pride, in and of itself, is a singular noun. A feeling. You can have pride about things but one cannot have more pride or less pride of positive things. I am proud about what I am, where I come from, what I have done. "Pride" is a noun. "Proud" is the verb tense of the noun "Pride". If you compare pride with other nouns, like the word "chair" for example, you can say you have more "Chair" than anyone else, the fact is everyone has chairs.

Esteem, and more importantly Self-esteem, on the other hand, denotes an action or train of thought as a response. The American Heritage® Dictionary defines Esteem in a number of ways:

Esteem as a noun:
"1. (archaic) worth, value"
"2. (archaic) opinion, judgment"
"3. he regard in which one is held ; especially : high regard "

Esteem as defined as a transitive verb:
"1. (archaic) appraise"
"2 a: to view as : consider b: think, believe"
"3. to set a high value on : regard highly and prize accordingly "

Finally, Self-esteem is defined as:
1 : a confidence and satisfaction in oneself : self-respect
2 : self-conceit

I can hold high or low esteem for a colleague, group, organization, or other affiliations, but I do not hold high pride, low pride, or shame for the same things. I believe that sometimes trying to simplify language causes mis-communication, misinterpretation, and loss of understanding, not just on a social level, but on a personal level as well.

The second reflects upon what we are to the world, in general. The definition "2. Pleasure or satisfaction taken in an achievement, possession, or association," of an action taken involving pride. Once again pride becomes an object that we negotiate with ourselves that increases our value or esteem in other peoples eyes.

I can say I am proud of my corvette, but do I really like corvettes, or do I like the reaction that others have when I drive in my corvette? This is a very interesting question because we will find people in situations that they absolutely hate. It could be a job they are unsatisfied with. It could be a social partner they cannot stand. It could even be driving a car they absolutely despise. The value of the social-esteem we gain overpowers the actual value its worth to our self-esteem and our pride.

Why do we have "pride" in a car we purchase from a car lot? Why do we have "pride" in dating the bosses annoying daughter? Why do we have pride if we work for a specific company, when the supervisor treats you disrespectfully?

The answer is that we do not get any pride, we get an esteem value due to the attachments made to the items, people, activities, or organization we are associated with. That is why, I believe, that so many marriages end in divorce, so many people work dead-end jobs, or why people are not spend-thrift. They mistake pride for esteem, and therefore become esteem heavy and pride starved. Pride does not fluctuate, esteem does.

The third, now the third definition I find most intriguing. "3. Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness."It speaks of how we think others should think of us.

Have you ever noticed that it seems the more simple a person is, the happier they are. I have often observed people whom I deemed less intelligent than myself, seem to get the most pleasure out of life. Instead of thinking of not having what they want, quite often, they seem to have taught themselves to be happy with what you have and just make due. I equate this with the similar perception that children have sometimes during Christmas.

If you buy a child a complex gift, that needs to be put together, that comes in a big box, the child will be absolutely thrilled with the big box until the toy is put together. In fact, sometimes the child will prefer the box to the toy itself. I have often seen many a toy go unused because the child used the box and a marker and created a spaceship.

Quite often, how we exhibit pride is the very thing that ruins careers, destroys families, and decimates individuals. Instead of being happy and proud with what you have, we start asking ourselves why we do not have the same esteem in others eyes that we hold for ourselves.

Maybe your wife is has not lived up to your personal expectations, be proud of the length of the relationship and the time you two have spent together. Remember the happy and hard times both of you have persevered through. Be proud of the ring on each of your fingers because it took both of you to make a marriage succeed like it has.

Maybe you are frustrated because you believe your son could do better in school, in a sport, or anything else. If so, ask yourself these two questions: Does he really want to do it? Does he believe he can do it or do it better? Regardless of the answer, none of this should diminish your pride of him. It should only diminish your esteem for him should he fail.

Maybe your car is not the newest model. Be proud of the fact that you have paid it off and now own it. You have worked hard. You have been responsible. You may not have the esteem of the current model, but you do not have the debt from the newest model either.

Maybe you are not happy with yourself. Instead of focusing on what could have been, think of what you have achieved. Beware that you do not take out your frustration in a way that ruins future accomplishments.

"Esteem gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man."~Daniel Slack

Every year, the citizens of the United States drink on average 21 gallons of milk. Most of this milk is from cows. Ever since I heard that PETA wanted Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream to use human milk, I have been researching about the advantages and uses of it. Here is what I have come up with.

8) Human Breast Milk has been used as a medication for thousands of years. In the ancient world, breast milk was sometimes consumed as Medicine, in Fertility Rituals, and in other religious ceremonies. The Ancient Egyptians used are honey and human breast milk as medicine. Not only did they have medicinal values, they also are believed to have been used to ward off evil spirits and demons. It is even theorized that our ancestors not only breast fed their children during long migrations, but also breast fed their men too!

7) It helps fight off long term health problems. Breast milk can help prevent ear infections. People who drink it are less likely to develop asthma, Multiple Sclerosis, and help prevent some food allergies. It is said that Breastfeeding protects against cancer, helps prevent heart disease and even relaxes tension caused by stress . People with GI disorders and organ donation recipients also benefit from the immunologic powers of human breast milk. Talk about a health drink!!

Antibodies (also called Immunoglobulins) are made by the body's immune system in an attempt to protect it from harmful substances such as bacteria, viruses, fungus, or animal dander. The antibodies work by attaching to these substances so that the immune system can destroy them.

There are five major types of antibodies: IgA, IgG, IgM, IgE, and IgD. All are found in breast milk. IgA antibodies protect body surfaces that are exposed to outside foreign substances. They are found primarily in the nose, breathing passages, digestive tract, ears, eyes, vagina, saliva and tears. This makes IgA particularly important for babies who are always putting things in their mouths.

In patients that are suffering from immunilogical diseases, such as AIDS, Leukemia, or Hepatitis, or patients recieving a therapy that deteriorates the immune system, such as chemo or radiation therapy, have shown the benefit when supplimenting their diets with human breast milk.

For more information:
http://www.breastfeeding.com/allabout.html

6) People are always complaining in the USA, about stupid people doing stupid things. People cutting us off, insulting us, and even lacking common sense. Well, turns out that Human Breast Milk may actually increase intelligence. Studies show breastfed infants have higher IQ s than bottle fed infants.

For more information:
http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_about/all_about_iq.html

5) Breastfed babies grow up to be leaner than bottle fed babies. Maybe it has to do with the fact that babies digestive systems are still in development. Then again, it maybe just that babies are trying to fill a psychological need with food. When a baby nurses with its mother, he is learning the basics of relationships. He is learning the recognize boundaries for good behavior, and what is not acceptable. The closeness that develops during breast feeding carries over to any relationships later in life. We, as Humans, learn by example.

Read more at:
http://www.schizophrenia.com/sznews/archives/004125.html

There are more and more people considering the advantages of breast milk not just for the treatment of illness.

4) PETA wants Ben and Jerry's ice cream made from Human Milk. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co founders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., urging them to replace cow's milk they use in their ice cream products with human breast milk, according to a statement recently released by a PETA spokeswoman.

more on this :
http://www.wptz.com/news/17539127/detail.html

3) Swiss restaurant to serve meals cooked with human breast milk . The owner of the Storchen restaurant in the exclusive Winterthur resort will improve his menu with local specialties such as meat stew and various soups and sauces containing at least 75 per cent of mother's milk.

more on this:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2976181/Swiss-restaurant-to-serve-meals-cooked-with-human-breast-milk.html

2) In France, a "dairy" produces Human Milk Cheese. Founded in 1947, the cheese Cosma was able to recover the wealth of a farmer ancestral tradition Ardennaise forgotten until then. Indeed, the Petit Singly, the only cheese with woman's milk , has long remained in the shadow of specialty cheeses, ordinarily milk cow, goat or sheep.

In France, no other product of this quality is listed, the Petit Singly has managed over time refining its taste thanks to the expertise of the master cheese maker, Patrice Cosma. Tinged with a touch of hazelnut and a subtle caramel color, sweetness and its basis will only tempt you.

For more information on this:
http://membres.lycos.fr/petitsingly/

1) A Business in Miami, FL wants to promote the virtues of Human Breast Milk Ice cream. U.S. citizens consumed an average of 23 gallons of bovine milk in 2001. Quite an astonishing amount when you consider that Homosapiens are the only organisms known to consume milk beyond infancy. Even more extraordinary is the fact that humans are the only organisms that consume the milk of other animals!

Female mothers in the Class Mammalia produce nutrient-rich milk for consumption by their own newborn babies. Humans have attained the unique (and bizarre) position in the food web from which they exploit the reproductive cycle of other animals (particularly Bovidae) for food. Adding to the cultural mystique of milk consumption is the widely held taboo against consumption of human breast milk either by unrelated individuals or persons beyond some generally unspecified age.

It is the mission of MMICCo. to challenge the traditional paradigm that there is nothing abnormal about conversion of mammalian milk into luxury food items. Mother's milk is a natural creation that we should celebrate, but is the milk of other species truly fair game for human consumption? If so, why isn't human milk? Our hope is to provide a delicious frozen product while framing this conversation in a way that leads to fruitful progress in consideration of the ecological niche of Homosapiens.

For more information on this:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/muscarella/mothersmilkicecream.html

I do not understand why it would be OK to drink from a cow Teat, but not from a human Teat. I have found evidence to the detrimental effect of cow's milk with Bovine Growth Hormone. One study not only shows evidence that it leads to obesity and excessive male breast development, but suggests that drinking nonorganic milk will give women a 42% higher chance, and men a 20% higher chance of developing Breast cancer.

Mostly, I wrote the article so that people will start questioning why we believe what we believe is OK. Society says it is OK to drink cow milk. Society also says we should expect politicians to lie, judges to take bribes, and car dealers to try to rip us off. How far back are we personally willing to push the boundaries of what society says is acceptable? Is it worth it, to improve your health?

Here are some more informative sites for further information:

This one is the world famous La Leche League, promoting Worldwide Awareness to the benefits of Brestfeeding:

http://www.llli.org/

This article talks of Human breast milk for adults as an anti aging substance, What does human milk bring other than nutrition:

http://www.imminst.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=28490

A few more good sites:

http://www.freedompondmoonworks.com/pb/wp_2e517814.html

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/opinion/community_voices/article/breastfeeding_is_both_normal_and_natural/7724/

Adults who play a lot of action video games may be improving their eyesight, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.

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"I just think it's immoral to create life and destroy it in the name of science," said Georgia State Sen. Ralph Hudgens. "In Nazi Germany they did experiments with human beings. I don't want to see that done here."

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Very nice article comparing these two drugs.

"A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying that he is wiser today than yesterday." ~ Jonathan Swift

Shame, a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt. There are many reasons why we should feel shame and why we do feel shame. There can be shame from a personal failure, knowing you did not do your best. There can be shame from going against you own personal morals: such as lying, cheating and stealing. Shame should be a personal experience based upon an inadequacy we feel with ourselves. The problem is that our society, our peers, our friends, and our family continue to pile it upon us with little concern for the effect it has on us.

Society impresses upon us to feel shame about many things. Not being successful enough, not having the right material goods, not looking handsome enough, or being the right race/gender. We are taught, from an early age, to feel shame from not living up to the expectations of others. We are taught from advertisements to feel shame for not having a certain product or service. We are taught that we should feel as the majority feel about politics, news, and opinions. These lessons effects our psyche. It pushes us into feelings of guilt and inadequacy.

Shame haunts me in my thoughts, my emotions, and my actions. I do not always recognize the effects my shame has on me. It keeps me frozen. Frozen in the effects of my past abuse. Frozen from admitting the effects my pain has on those around me. Ultimately, my shame prevents me from forgiving myself. Time does not move on. Instead of drawing strength from accomplishments I achieve, my failures are focused upon. From the seeds of shame springs a mangled, stifling growth that twists my heart, losing the ability to feel the joy of life.

The shame from being in a violent and abusive situation is only the beginning of the deadly spiral that lead many to suicide. There is the trauma of the abuse that one experiences. Sadness and pain fill the core of your being. Desire for a normal life and despair at not having one encompass the heart. The feeling of worthlessness, the feelings of isolation, begin to permeate you.

All of us are born into a world that we see is ultimately good, as a child. Then the unspeakable happens:

It can be a belt being wielded by an angry mother who loses control.

It can be the loss of a parental figure at a key development point in your life.

It can be a flash of anger between two parents that ends in violence.

It can be someone who you are supposed to trust causes unspeakable trauma that makes you hide under the bed, making you cry every time you remember it.

The memory of this trauma begins to build upon other experiences. Your memory hangs upon you like a massive weight, keeping you as the abused. The feelings associated with abuse never leave you. You end up always feeling the abuse continue. The fear and the pain stab at you. At school, in church, and at home.

You learn to despise all memory. This tactic leaks into other areas of life. Some begin to believe that if you cannot remember, you are preserving yourself. In reality, you are killing yourself. Without memory, you become locked in the pain. Losing your memory leaves you with feelings that have no explanation. Unrelated experiences will trigger feelings You may become angry or sad, but know not why. Without your memory, the words of your heart play like a movie dialogue without the scenes showing. Without memory you cannot replace the bad experiences with the good, and you cannot find purpose for your feelings. You may begin to seek similar abusive situations in order to give validity to the feelings you currently have from abuse that has occurred in the distant past.

You begin to hear words, in front of you or behind closed doors, from parents and from friends. You get consequences for things that you do, but do not understand why. You are taken to doctors, talk to therapists, but still this pervasive emptiness grows. Every doctor you see makes you feel more and more like an outcast, an oddity.

Unfortunately, parents of those who have a mental illness begin to show their frustration, by trying to fix something they do not even understand. Some resort to tactics that begin with empty compliments, trying to build up a problem they may view as a self esteem issue. Some try to pamper their children, thinking that physical gifts will repair the shattered spirit. When these passive tactics fail, many resort to violence, to try to correct the behaviors exhibited.

From my experience, the use of spanking as a correction for behavior evolves into violence as a means of control. That tends to lead for the parent to feel the need to control other aspects of their child's life unnecessarily. Until the unthinkable happens, the concerned parent becomes the abuser themselves. Suddenly, they feel that punishment is deserved for anything that the child does that does not meet with their approval.

Not eating food that is not liked.

Not achieving grade that are deemed satisfactory.

Not wanting to do something when being told to.

This leads into hindering the victim into developing their own personality, their own identity. It destroys the ability to grow past any trauma. Stunted personality growth forces dependence on others for the right to feel personal satisfaction that should happen when a personal achievement happens. Your happiness becomes dependent on significant relationships.

You begin to feel the pressures of society. You no longer have confidence in your own decision making ability. This leads to becoming a non-entity. Feelings you may have no longer count as valid in your mind. Without a controlling factor in your life, you lose direction. You do not know what to feel, what to think, what action to take.

When in social settings, you may only follow the suggestion of others. When asked what do you want to do, you say you do not know. When you are alone, you find you do not know really what to do with yourself. So, you retire and watch TV or play a computer game. You lose the initiative do go out and experience for yourself, by yourself.

This becomes a double edged curse, by not becoming for your personal self, it allows you to use others as the excuse for you personal choices that lead to failure. Suddenly, the shame you feel for yourself, you spread the same view on the world around you.

Many put on masks to try to feel accepted in society, to fill the emptiness that in some small way. To recapture the innocence and the normalcy that is taken away from you is folly, without knowing how to separate yourself from the people around you.

"Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn. " ~Benjamin Franklin

"The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."~ Allan K. Chalmers

Words are but an expression of the nature of humanity. Words are but a tool
towards the honest or the deceitfulness of the human condition.

I can say a very passionate phrase, one man can see it as a very romantic
thing, another can see it as offensive, a woman may see it as joyful, and a
boy can be driven to tears. It is all in the intention of the message, and
its interpretation, not necessarily its content.

Some speak through music, others speak through words, and some through
painting. But all these things I describe are that expression, of thought
and idea, of emotion. There is not such a thing as words, or painting, or
music, there is only intention.

A chef can convey poetry through his craft, a painter expresses love with
his brush, but the intention behind it is the same. It is the translation
of their passion so others may share it

Touch, taste, smell, sound. These things are all a language unto
themselves

It is the boundaries of communication that we limit each other. If a chef
conveys his love to all through epicurean delights, that is readily
accepted. But, if a chef expresses his love for everyone through words, then
he is open for heartache.

So he hides his passion for life, he hides his expression of love,
behind the sweet deliciousness of his craft. I can say, "I love you" and
you might be offended, I could sing about my love for you, and you might
find it romantic, I can touch you to show you my love and you would be
surprised, I could paint my love for you, and you would be inspired.

Words are the most painful, but we focus so much on the
nature of speech, I think we often neglect understanding and using other
forms of communication

Why isn't a recipe as inspiring as a sonata? Can a rose smell as sweet as a
sunset? It is not that these things are not inspiring, it is that we do not
pay enough attention to the world around us to be moved in all ways.

It is society that limits how we express love. It is religion that dampers
its passion. It is the individual that accepts what other men say, as
fact, instead of seeking the responsibility of truth. Love will
always find a way, except if man hardens his heart.

Love is not the experience that life has to give, love is the experience we
are willing to give to life.

"Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings."~Anais Nin

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[Heidi Sarna and Maureen Salamon - CNN.com]

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A Clackamas County, Ore., couple accused of letting their infant daughter die by relying on prayer, rather than medicine, today asked that the charges be dropped, arguing that they infringe on their freedom of religion and their right to raise their children in their own way.

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"For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions, even on important subjects, which I once thought right but found to be otherwise." Benjamin Franklin

Recently, I wrote an article about the trauma that occurs to children by moving.

http://daniel-slack.newsvine.com/_news/2008/12/05/2179572-moving-is-traumatic-for-children-the-forgotten-victims-of-migration-

When writing the article, I paid special care to relate only the opinions of professionals in the field of childhood development and data from research on the subject. I was hoping to present the need to take special consideration when the moving also involved children.

I was not pointing out issues in regard to what professions required relocation, though I did mention that military service was one of those that require frequent moving. I also pointed out that the circumstances for moving was also important, whether it was caused by death, divorce, or separation caused by legal issues.

I was surprised at the number of posts that not only disagreed by stating the facts presented were my own personal opinion, but also how many viewed it as a direct attack on military personnel. I was also surprised how emotions did not allow the readers who disagreed with my point of view, to see the difference between my "I feel" personal opinions and the facts presented.

For example, I made the response statement:

"One things holds true. I would be a better father if I did not miss so much of my child's life and add that to the instability of moving, it contributes to all sorts of issues in childhood development.

A father should inspire confidence commitment and strength, these things we should impart into our children. It is hard to be a good example when, I am not there to show it. "

I felt that I had clearly defined that this was my experience on the matter. In reply, one poster said:

"Now, saying that you'd be a better father just because you were home more is your opinion. I know fathers who don't work at all, sit at home all day, and still don't know how old their kids are or even what grades they're in. Maybe if YOU were home more, YOU would be a better father- but don't generalize, that's being ignorant.

As for the whole, and I quote… "A father should inspire confidence commitment and strength, these things we should impart into our children. It is hard to be a good example when, I am not there to show it." Again, that's you. In a way, you even sound a little sexist. The next President of the United States grew up without a father, yet here he is, soon to be the most powerful leader in the world. Again, your generalizations are offensive. "

To read the whole thread of the discussion, check out:

http://www.politicalcrossfire.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3172003

I found the responses I had received from the article rather confounding. It seemed to me that either people are afraid to look at things objectively, or lack the skills to do it. Also, any facts presented that go against personal belief to be considered opinion, and any opinion that disagrees, seems to be considered offensive.

I like to define terms so that we all have a foundation of for debate on the matter:

Fact: a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred

Opinion: a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty

Agreement: harmony of people's opinions or actions or character

Disagreement: discrepancy, a difference between conflicting facts or claims or opinions

Offensive, I find is a very confusing word, it can mean:

Violating or tending to violate or offend against; "violative of the principles of liberty"; "considered such depravity offensive against all laws ...

For the purpose of attack rather than defense; "offensive weapons"

Causing anger or annoyance; "offensive remarks" '

Unsavory: morally offensive; "an unsavory reputation"; "an unsavory scandal"

Unpleasant or disgusting especially to the senses; "offensive odors"

Dysphemistic: substitute a harsher or distasteful term for a mild one ; "`@!$%#' is a dysphemistic term for `African-American'"

Nauseating: causing or able to cause nausea; "a nauseating smell"; "nauseous offal"; "a sickening stench"

What really interests me is how facts seem to offend people. I sit here trying to think of facts that I consider offensive, and cannot find any. Facts on what wrongs I have done in my life, facts about studies conducted, facts about the nature of the universe, and nothing I can think of I can deem offensive.

I find the behavior of individuals offensive, I find information presented in a misleading way offensive, but I cannot find "facts" themselves offensive.

I tend to be a fairly flexible individual, willing to change my opinion based on what facts are given, regardless if I agree with them or not. It is a way I can insure that my perspective can be factually valid, not based on the ebb and flow of opinion and peer pressure.

Yet, I wonder. Why is there such a disassociation with in our psyche? What is promoting the need to be so socially right, as opposed to be individually wrong? What bearing does personal viewpoint have on the ability to accept information that goes against our attitudes or actions?

"Communities tend to be guided less than individuals by conscience and a sense of responsibility. How much misery does this fact cause mankind! It is the source of wars and every kind of oppression, which fill the earth with pain, sighs and bitterness." Albert Einstein

Scientists tell us that if we give our bodies the nutrition, water, sunlight, exercise and rest they're designed to use, they should be good for 150 years. We're only averaging half that, so we're really screwing up. Most of us are screwing up on all five requirements.

How often do you sleep for eight hours, and in total darkness and quiet?

How often to you get out for at least a couple miles of fast walking?

Is it a news flash to you that your skin and eyes need to be exposed to the sun...and not through your car windows?

There's no way you're drinking the six to eight glasses of pure water every day that your body needs. Nutrition is where we are really doing a job on our bodies. We happily stuff in poisons like sugar, alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, aspartame, and, by far the most insidious, cooked food.

I was contacted today by a wonderful lady who asked some very insightful questions about myself and my articles concerning being an "Adult Survivor Of Child Abuse." It was a real joy because it made me think not only on my intentions, but other areas of my personality that I may not have covered so far in the series.

Susan is a contributor to NBC News. Her topics cover a wide range of subjects involving Mental and Emotional Health. She had the opportunity to sit down with Daniel Slack, a new contributor to Newsvine who is writing a series called "Adult Survivor Of Child Abuse: The Consequences In My Life".

SUSAN: First, let me say, I am not a professional. I am one who is interested in your story, your writing and your ability to convey to everyone your tragic life not only as a child but as the adult you are today.

DANIEL: Well thank you. I am very honored to be speaking with you today. I want to start off by saying that I never realized that my abuse was so different from everyone else's. I have heard about child abuse on the Internet, on TV, in newspapers. I just figured what I went through was pretty normal for abused children for the most part.

Now, there are certain aspects that I never went into in the article more for the readers sake than my own. For example, part of the sexual abuse I went through was actually bestiality based. I know that was different, but I did not know that even the relationship with my parents was somewhat horrific based on what other abused people say, but I must say my parents never sexually abused me.

I feel in this day and age, that all the media attention, from Jerry Springer and Dr. Phil, to the sensationalism of the media is minimizing the effect on society and making child abuse more acceptable. In fact, we even have adults and children stepping forward so saying that they were abused to be accepted into their peer group or to get attention from others.

SUSAN: Are you married? Do you have children? Have you done to those what was done to you? Have you chose a different lifestyle?

DANIEL: I want to let it be know that I have never been gay. I was married at one time, for 12 years. She was the only woman I ever dated, the only person I let touch me, the only woman I ever kissed, the only woman I ever had sex with, the only woman I ever loved, so far. Our relationship was really never that great though. When we got past the honeymoon period, we were both passive aggressive, not really understanding the concept of forgiveness and reconciliation. The foundation was based as much on truth as it was on lies. I was just happy to find someone to love me and accept me. Well, she was beautiful too, I have a thing for red heads.

I want to say right now that there is no difference between the emotional effects of physical, mental, and emotional abuse. The cycle of the relationship was:

a perpetuation me doing something to make her mad,

she doing something to make me mad,

we blowing up at each other,

she hitting me, often using the excuse of her red hair for her anger problem,

we realize how horrible we were to each other

and making up.

Our relationship was no longer about love toward the end, it was about guilt. About not feeling guilty when getting away with unacceptable behavior behind each others back. About feeling guilty when we are caught. About living in a miserable existence blaming each other for our misery, but staying together out of duty. there were times I would spend hours each day at my various friends house because I could not handle the situation. This further spawned feelings of abandonment in her, she would pull away, spawning a sense of abandonment in me, and so on. We were way too into ourselves to see the perspective of the other person.

Even to this day I miss her. I have never been a womanizer, and I still feel as if I am cheating on our marriage, somehow. When I look at a woman and think she is attractive, even now. I was faithful to the marriage, if that counts for anything. It was the emotional baggage we both had to evolve from, but could not.

SUSAN: As you say, there are many forms of manipulation, abuse and have you become one of those?  Or, are you truly as you say you are in your writing?

DANIEL: Well, one of the problems with being abused is that we tend to take on attributes of the abuser. I am guilty of manipulation, that is true, but I have put a lot of effort of trying to overcome the bad behaviors and replace them with good ones. I have never been a child abuser or sexual predator. My past experiences have actually prevented me from being comfortable with certain socio-sexual behaviors.

It is hard for me to let people touch me. When my ex-wife first kissed me, I had stiffened like a board. I stood straight and tall. I felt feelings of pure joy and pure shame both at the same time. When she was done kissing me, I apologized. It has been a hard battle for me to overcome feelings of inadequacy, as a human, as a man, and as a son.

Everything I have written is truthful as a Swiss cheese memory can be, but I have only written accurate facts in regards to my upbringing.

SUSAN: Do you struggle, not completely trusting of those around you. Recluse? I sense you are a little. Some people write on Newsvine for a sense of belonging and for the unnecessary "stamp of approval" and that is one reason I, myself, am on Newsvine. To learn of things I would never learn on my own, to write, to give my opinion, whatever reason I choose and for whatever reason you are here, I am happy for it.

DANIEL: Well, this is a very confusing question, indeed. When it comes to trust, I trust everyone. Part of the reason for this is because of my experience growing up. I was not trusted for any good reason, so I do not want to cause the same. Unfortunately, this comes with dire consequences. It leaves me open to be taken advantage of and want to stay in an abusive relationship as well. I make excuses for those who wrong me. It also leaves me with the expectation of disappointment.

It is essentially a paradox. I trust so that I can be disappointed. This further plays into a sense of self-righteousness and self-loathing, as well.

To become reclusive is reverting to a childish behavior. Locking myself away so that I might not get hurt. This is very similar to hiding under the bed because I needed to feel safe, which is something I did as well.

As for Newsvine, I stumbled across it accidentally. I liked what I saw and decided to start blogging for the first time. This was maybe 7 months ago, but I only really got into it 3 months ago.

SUSAN: I want you to know that as I'm writing this, I am watching my English Bull dog, Harry, named after "Harry Potter," on my backyard deck, licking the frost off of four planks. Is that not truly strange?

DANIEL: How exactly is that strange? All over the world, adults do silly childish things for the sheer enjoyment of them. I enjoy Anime, Video Games, and much other silliness. There is a quote I like to remember so I do not take life so seriously:

"A Little nonsense, now and then, is relished by the wisest men." Willy Wonka

SUSAN: There is so much you are writing that I have to go back through your articles to read what I may have missed. I do look forward to your third installment.

DANIEL: Well, thank you for taking time out and asking me these questions