2011/06/23

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Standing Tall In The Shadows Of A New York Tragedy That United The World: September 11, 2001

It has been almost a decade now and there's much to remember when it comes to the tragedy that befell New York, The United States and the world at the hands of Islamic terrorists on September 11th, 2001. The catastrophe itself was a real horror for those killed and injured as well as for the family of those attacked in New York City, in planes, in the air, and at the mighty Pentagon. Those people should not ever be forgotten. Pain fades but it creates scars and scars never disappear, but for those who survive, it takes plenty of help to move forward. In light of the apparent death of Osama Bin Laden, there is some closure in regards to the actual crime that was committed against humanity that day, but from every great tragedy, there comes stories of extraordinary heroism, bravery, hope and humanity. September 11th was no exception. A decade later I want to remember the good that came from the aftermath of this tragedy, the help, solidarity and compassion shared by New Yorkers and the rest of the United States in the face of such a tremendous man-made catastrophe.

Most people know the heart breaking details of what happened on 9/11. On a cool, crisp autumn morning, a handful of terrorists kidnapped several commercial jetliners. One crashed on its way to Washington D.C., killing all aboard, including a few brave passengers who tried to take the plane back from the terrorists. The plane plunged into the ground, thus saving hundreds or perhaps thousands more lives than if the aircraft had reached its destination. Two more planes flew into the World Trade Center, toppling and forever destroying the wondrous man-made towers. Many that were inside, simply going through a seemingly normal day at work, died in their attempt to escape the destruction or in their efforts to save people from the catastrophe. A third plane plunged into the Pentagon, killing many more people working to protect American lives and interests.

When all was said and done, 2819 people died in that tragedy. Over 400 firefighters, policemen, paramedics and civil servants died saving many people, and trying to save many more. We have been at war with terrorism ever since. This was an unabated attack on innocent civilian lives, affecting many more than those killed or wounded in the attack itself. It also affected many more than just New Yorkers. Over 100 different nationalities lost citizens in the attack. The Twin Towers were more than just a few extremely tall buildings. The World Trade Center complex was a beacon illuminating hope in the city from 1973 to that fateful day in 2001. The designs were finalized in 1964 for the 7 building project with the Twin Towers to be the heart of the finished complex. Construction began on August 5th of 1966. The completed towers were 1368 and 1362 feet tall respectively, 110 stories in height, once and the tallest buildings in existence. They housed approximately 50,000 employees and saw 20,000 visitors per day. People came to see the grandeur of New York. The towers were part of the financial hub of the country and the world. To many around the planet they were a symbol of freedom. Many people from many nations went there to build a better existence for themselves, as well as for their families and their communities.

That is America in a nutshell, opportunity and hope, where anyone can come and enjoy the freedom. We are a nation built of immigrants, and New York is the epicenter of the melting pot. This was no more evident than when such a large number of people from so many nations died along with thousands of New Yorkers in those buildings, and when the intrepid New York public workers, firefighters and policemen went into that building facing death or injury, they went to save anyone that they possibly could, not just New Yorkers. People from around the nation streamed to New York in the days that followed, making extensive attempts in whatever way possible to offer their help, as well as searching for survivors and victims. America always has unified in times of crisis, even if we squabble when there is no crisis. However, that's the beauty of America. We argue and fight to find the best way for all, so we can each enjoy our own freedoms without hurting others, and if need be when push comes to shove, we will even help each other out. America often gets a bum rap, as do New Yorkers. We are often labeled burly, loud, grumpy, and so forth, but September 11th perhaps more than any other tragedy exposed the true heart and character of Americans and New Yorkers. The love and sympathy and unity that grew from that tragedy showed who we are.

New Yorkers, in spite of their many differences, attitudes, and famous lack of patience, have always managed to come through for each other and the world. Believe it or not, New Yorkers are one giant family of dedicated citizens that help each other out in times of sorrow and need. We always have. Although New Yorkers are accustomed to social, political and economic upheavals, crime, overcrowding, deterioration of neighborhoods, intolerable housing, outrageous rents and high taxes, they accept the turbulence that is associated with daily life as a normal and inevitable way of life. However, it still doesn't stop them from being aggravated with these issues and complaining about them, as well. There are a few rotten apples in the Big Apple too, but then there are rotten apples and chronic complainers everywhere.

But what about all the emergency workers who bravely sacrificed their lives in the face of enormous endangerment that day and what of thousands of other emergency workers and New York citizens who faced the same peril that day and survived? Those terrorists didn't just violently take down the Twin Towers and kill thousands of hard-working people they attacked the American Dream personified.

Keep in mind that when we remember 9/11, we must remember New York and America's response to that attack. The bravery, the unity, the poise that was displayed, and love and human bonding that formed. In place of the victims and the towers that fell that bloody day stood a unified city and nation, united to seek justice against terrorism wherever it might run and hide. The commercial hub of the United States, the epicenter of trade, fashion, entertainment, banking, publishing, and shipping was assaulted, as were freedom and hope. Nevertheless as always, we persevered.

Leaders like Mayor Giuliani displayed resolve and poise. He guided the city through the horrors that we endured. Like him or not, he was a picture of leadership during that crisis. He did not sway but remained calm and focused. He gave the city and the nation the stoic, resolved face that it needed to see at the time. What of the united policemen and emergency workers who lost friends and relatives, who stood together exhausted as the President, addressed them and vowed justice. What of millions of New Yorkers who donated time, energy and resources to help the survivors get through the crisis?

It wasn't just New Yorkers who displayed the unity that the country and the world felt in the aftermath of 9/11. At the first home Boston Red Sox game after the sports world resumed as all pro sports ceased for days and weeks after September 11th, thousands of Red Sox fans stood and sang "New York, New York" to honor the victims of 9/11 and the citizens that survived. The fact that Boston fans, die-hard fans of a team with a 100 year heated rivalry with the New York Yankees, would show such love and support to such a hated rival says a lot about this nation, its true feelings for its fellow citizens, and its understanding of true priority.

Numerous nations around the world held a unified moment of silence to honor the victims. Many nations sent donations and assistance to aid in the recovery. In New York, as in the rest of the United States and most of the world, humanity exists, even in this day and age. We must always remember this.

We must also always remember September 11, 2001. We must remember the 400 emergency workers that gave their lives to save others to protect the symbol and ideal of hope, freedom and the pursuit of happiness. We must remember the brave passengers on flight 93 that gave their lives to stop the hijackers from attaining their goal. The famous last words of a heroic victim, Todd Beamer, who died aboard that plane, were: "Are you ready? Let's roll."

Those words must not have been uttered in vain. Let's roll means to move on, to take action, and they hold more contexts in regards to September 11th and its true meaning than to take a plane back. We must move on and forward. We must learn from the heroism displayed by victims, by New Yorkers and Americans during that tragedy and its aftermath. We must roll on in the name of hope and freedom. We must roll on in honor of those victims. We must remember the unity, support and love that New Yorkers and the nation shared. We must always remember and pay homage to the wreckage and destruction of the symbol of the American Dream that were known as the Twin Towers. We must always remember and pay homage to the victims caught in that destruction and to those that have died since, protecting the very American Dream that the Twin Towers personified. That's the irony of it all. By destroying the symbol of freedom and the American way, the terrorists utterly failed. They united us in the name of those principles, strengthening our common bond. We must continue to build on that strength when we honor and remember those that died on September 11, 2001, and we must continue to prevail.

How about it America, are you ready to roll? Let's go build upon the American Dream that the terrorists tried to destroy on September 11th. Let's continue to protect and honor freedom, and lead the world by our actions and deeds, not our words.

Let's roll.

With 12 years of research experience, History in all its manifestations is Miriam B. Medina's passion, and she loves nothing more than sharing what she learns with everyone. So be sure to check it out at http://thehistorybox.com/ny_city/history_box_remembers_9-11_nycity.htm, a one-stop resource center for writers, journalists, historians, teachers and students.


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Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos

Independence War 2: Edge of ChaosIn Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos, you command four futuristic battle cruisers and a band of revolutionary pirates in an all-consuming battle against impossible odds. The setting is the Badlands cluster, 100 years after the first Independence War. Corporations killed your father for a bad debt, and you've spent 15 years rotting in jail for trying to get justice. Now it's time for vengeance. Turn back the corporations before they corrupt the entire universe.

Independence War 2 features an innovative user-friendly interface--90 percent of the functions can be programmed on the joystick, keyboard, or both. Get online multiplayer support for up to eight people. Play deathmatch, capture the flag, and various other unique scenarios. This game utilizes the revolutionary Flux graphics engine, is Microsoft Direct3D compatible, has surface effects such as rust, decay, and wear on the ships, and features stunning fire and flare effects. All ships in the game are modeled using the textures and details from the ships created for the CGI movies, and use a Newtonian mechanics simulation, moving according to the same rules as real spacecraft. This includes a simulation of both linear and angular momentum, inertia, and rotational moment of inertia. Ships can use either a free-flight mode or use computer-assisted fly-by-wire flight controls.

Team up against the enemy with detachable fighters. Keep them onboard as murderous gun turrets or order them to attack as wingmen. Nonlinear gameplay spans 16 star systems. Interact with dynamically created space traffic. Command four flyable ships and more than 30 weapons and ship accessories that you can use in near-infinite combinations. Get to know the locals, including taxicab ships, freighters, space patrols, and pirates. Watch the space opera unfold through a rich story line in four acts.

Price: $9.95


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2011/06/22

Forex Magnates Retail Forex Industry Report Q1 2011

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Rayman 3 - Hoodlum Havoc

Rayman 3 - Hoodlum HavocUltimate Powers.  Ultimate Enemies. Ultimate Havoc!Product Information Rayman's universe has exploded into a wacked-out world of cartoon mayhem andmind-blowing battles!  When Globox accidentally swallows the Lord of theDark Lums a fanatic army of trigger-happy Hoodlums wreaks total havoc to gettheir lord back!  Rayman's only chance?  Journey the vast reaches ofthe world to purge the Dark Lum Lord from the manic Globox scour the lands forunearthly new powers and do battle with hordes of Hoodlum soldierscontraptions and maniacal bosses.  This time it's war!Product Features Rayman's Bustin' Loose!  Rayman's in prime form with new high-tech powers and gear like Shock Rockets the LockJaw.  Funky-Boards and other cool stuff! Totally Wild Enemies!  Charge into intense battles with the crazy Hoodlum Army and massive transforming meanies! One Big Bizarre Adventure!  Romp through giant amazing worlds jumpin' with zany jokes and funny folks - featuring John Leguizamo as Globox. Official trailer featuring Madder by Groove Armada courtesy of Jive Records.Windows Requirements Windows 98 Me 2000 XP only Pentium III 600 MHz Celeron or AMD Athlon processor (Pentium III 1000 Celeron or AMD Athlon recommended) 256 MB of RAM Direct3D compatible 32 MB Video Card with DirectX 8.1 (included on disc) 800 MB minimum Hard Drive space 4X or faster CD-ROM drive (not recommended for use with CD-RWs) DirectX 8.1 compatible Sound Card Windows compatible Mouse required Windows compatible Keyboard required Dual Analog Controller strongly recommended DirectX 8.1 compatible 3D Video Cards with 32 MB (GeForce equivalent or better).  Intel graphics controllers and onboard (built-in) Video Cards not supported.

Price: $9.99


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Lottery Harvester Lottery Systems

Lottery Harvester Lottery System 12, 15 and 24 lottery systems which will reduce the odds of winning the lottery by over 95% and explode your lottery winnings. Lottery systems that are very easy to use backed up with 24/7 support.


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Displaying the Flag

When you decide to put a flag outside your house, it's critical that the fabric doesn't touch the dirt. Purity is key when considering the well-being of your flag and keeping it pristine. When the displaying of the fabric comes into discussion some people on the street don't appreciate it if the flag is flowing the opposite direction even if it's not on a pole but rather attached to the house. It doesn't matter in the end how it is shown to the world, it's important to maintain the health and wellness of the flag when it is folded and put away for a season.

Once we put these flags are placed in a large circle, in order to respect them in the proper way it is important to salute it and sing the national anthem. Those who choose to not sing the national anthem are welcome to remain silent and can still participate in the ceremony. It is truly an awe-inspiring experience when all the neighbors come and join together to show gratitude to their country and those who have fallen in the past to maintain their freedom.

There are some important points to consider in the storage of the United States flag. The military actually has a special process of folding it in triangular shapes and having one soldier stand on each side and making sure that no part of the fabric touches the pavement or dirt underneath it. The symbolism of this process is very complex, but does not need to be fully understood to do it in individual congregations or communities. Boy Scouts in particular are taught to fold flags in a respectful way.

There have been many wars fought in order to maintain the freedom of the men and women and children that would live as a part of this great nation. In the Revolutionary War there were many Americans who forfeited their lives for the cause. Since then, there have been more than hundreds of thousands of fatalities in a like manner.

Along with this large number of brave men and women who have died, there have always been an even more numerous amount of non-contributing zeros who have repeatedly mocked those who have protected their freedoms. Sadly, this great faction still exists today by the masses amongst the great population of this nation and they have a great political voice which continues to contribute to a great political and economic decline.

Many times people think they can leave this faction of people and show some patriotism by wearing an American flag in order to gain the respect of some respectful citizens so they can get somewhere in life. However, it is not always respectful to wear the stars and stripes on articles of clothing. If they are worn, it should be one or the other.

Drew Hawkins is a trusted expert in displaying and caring for the American flag. He has assisted in the creation hundreds of natural rock flagpole bases over the last decade.


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End of the World: Is It Real or a Hoax?

Many people are aware of the news that the end of the world is coming near. Some even gave the exact date and time of the dreaded mass extinction. However, none of these are proven true unless the time will come. Different prophecies have been circulating around regarding the said end of the world thing. For those people who do not have the faith, they tend to lose it and be carried away by these thoughts.

Of all the prophecies and predictions that were roaming around, the very best one was that of the Mayan Prophecy. It is said that the world will suffer from its demise in 2012; as of this day, it will be next year. This prophecy has been proven its worth to different scholars, which in response they said that it was really imminent. Nevertheless, you need to know that as long as there are believers and non-believers; argument will always be in the middle.

In order for you to fully understand the Mayan's prediction, you need to know its origin. Based on the Mayan calendar, December 21, 2012, will be the exact date of the dreaded end of the world. However, it is not detailed on how the earth will suffer from this dreaded catastrophe. To make matters even worse, several groups of people have already assembled and gathered, supporting the advocacy that this will really happen.

They even began the countdown with regards to this matter. Some of them even said that there will be an unknown planet that will collide against earth, making way for the two planets to be destroyed and leave nothing on its wrath. If you will base your knowledge according to the Mayan calendar, there is no doubt that you might be consumed by the concept. This will let you embrace the fact that it will really happen in 2012. Nevertheless, these assumptions are needed to be justified in order to help you to go on with your normal state of mind.

Overall, this heated debate on whether the projection of the impending mass extinction is real or just a hoax will go on until the very day that this will come. As of now, people have to wait for them to see if this alarming and mind-boggling thought will really happen. Mayan calendar has been the most accurate prophecy that anyone can count on, but still, it is just an assumption. You really need to wait if you want to know the truth.

Mayan Calendar has become the most reliable prophecy when it comes in the event of the dreaded mass extinction. The dreaded thought of the end of the world will really go on until the assumed day will come.


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Japan's Earthquake Reminds Us That the World Is a Fragile Place

I started this a month ago:

It's been quite awhile since my last post. Lots on my mind but not much pouring out on paper. Last night, I was checking on the weather channel for the weekend outlook, and instead, I saw the earthquake unfolding in Japan.

Mesmerized, I watched as reporters described the devastation with increasing details. Video clips of walls of mud pushing hundreds of vehicles inland - most, very likely, still with passengers. My heart and the hearts of the global family caught in my chest in a synchronized ache. There is no way to understand the scope of this phenomenon by watching safely from one's own warm home thousands of miles away.

Tsunami warnings for the countries touching the Pacific Ocean immediately went out and people watched uneasily through the night, tracking the 500 + MPH speed of the waves.

This morning, I called my daughter to see if she'd heard anything about it. She said she had not and reminded me that she didn't have TV. "Oh," I said, forgetting that she had cut herself off from the American advertisers and stupid sitcoms. She does have a top notch big screen TV with 3 terabytes of storage for a gazillion movies. A terabyte is a number that reminds me of the national debt. So huge as to be past my comprehension. She spends quite a bit of time watching many movies and old versions of her fave shows.

She thinks this is better than TV. I'm not so sure. If the world is relatively predictable and our leaders and citizens are rather trustworthy, well, it would make sense that even though there were ups and downs, living isolated from the "bad news" dished up daily could make sense. After all, aren't we supposed to follow our bliss and ignore the bad stuff?

I'm not so sure. It seems that the tide has changed and many people are no longer content to live oblivious of their environment. Like they say, people who don't take care of their liberty don't really deserve to have it - and the liberty that we have left is nothing like what we had 10 years ago. But, I digress.

Stuff happens in the world. Much of it is amazingly wonderful and much of that goes unnoticed, even when the great stuff is our own.

The times, they are a-changing. Make sure you are not caught just looking at the ground or just up to the end of your own nose.

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Conducting Investigative Due Diligence in the Developing World

Investigative due diligence is the process of identifying hidden or undisclosed information related to a company or individual that is involved in a potential investment, acquisition or business relationship. This type of proactive commercial investigation looks to identify the areas of concern that may not be reflected in a company's financial or legal due diligence such as intangibles like the company's reputation and that of its senior principals, as well as potential red flags or areas of concern in their backgrounds. The investigations are often invaluable in their ability to provide points of negotiation or information that could avoid a costly commitment being made.

Investigative due diligence is an essential step for anyone conducting business in the emerging or developing markets. This is particularly important for any US or European companies with respect to the requirements of anti-corruption acts such as the FCPA and UK Bribery Act.

Asia Diligence is a company with its operation base in South East Asia that has on the ground experience of conducting due diligence investigations and background checks in over 90 countries throughout the world. Asia Diligence has managed over one thousand of these investigations primarily in emerging and developing countries and offers some insight into conducting these investigations in those jurisdictions:

-Know the jurisdiction and what information can be obtained

Different countries offer a different level of information that can be accessed publicly, knowing what is available and the limitations of that information are critical in how it can be used and assessed. Unfortunately even local sources are not always aware of everything that is available because publicly available information does not necessarily mean that it is hosted on a public website. Experience of working in a jurisdiction and knowledge of how different types of information can be legally obtained is critical.

-Understand how an investigation should be structured and what areas to focus on

A professionally conducted investigation cannot be split into constituent parts and scattered between a number of companies or investigators as has become more typical with some of the large volume FCPA suppliers looking for cost benefits. For example, a check of media relating to a company can indicate different information than the company records, however the assumption that the records are correct is not always true as there may be older versions and in extreme cases fake or false company names have been used. Reputation enquiries and media checks may identify court cases outside of the regions being checked, reputation enquiries can also identify situations involving related companies or the company under an old trade name, whereas the media information can indicate potential sources to speak to. In effect everything is interlinked and therefore needs to be assessed as a whole in order for areas of concern or inconsistencies to be identified. Companies that split the investigations up to save costs look upon investigative due diligence as a product rather than a service.

-Understand and interpret the information obtained

In many jurisdictions throughout the world but particularly in the emerging and developing countries, public sources are limited and of questionable use, media is incomplete and there is a lot of opaqueness when it comes to conducting business. For example in one jurisdiction in Central Africa, individuals could easily access and even edit their own court files, subsequently allowing them to change details and thereby making any checks ineffective. In a jurisdiction in Asia, company records are often miss-spelt, sometimes with different spellings in the same document and with a lack of press freedom media information is always positive. In these locations, collecting information through discrete enquiries with industry sources, clients, suppliers and where possible government/official sources is essential to obtaining an understanding of the company you are dealing with. Overlooking this or dealing with the process circumspectly will seriously weaken the usefulness of the investigations. Knowledge of the limitations of the intelligence received and a good level of experience of conducting investigative due diligence, will ensure that the information reported is as effective as possible.

Due diligence investigations are often considered to be less important than other types of commercial investigations resulting in a standard approach with little thought into the information coming back. In reality correctly conducting these investigations, can go a long way to avoiding the need for other types of commercial investigations at a later date.

Asia Diligence is a commercial investigations company that specializes in providing global investigative due diligence services, individual background checks and company background checks as well as targeted commercial investigations. The company's primary focus is the emerging and developing markets in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, South and Central America and it is well placed to support clients looking to, or operating, in these markets.

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2011/06/21

What Is Cultural Role Playing?

With increasing involvement abroad, cultural role playing is becoming a prevalent training tool that military branches and other groups use as they prepare for interaction with people from different cultures. The ultimate goal in using cultural role playing as a training tool is to give military troops and other groups an opportunity to be involved in scenarios that are likely to appear as they work abroad and learn how to handle those situations in an appropriate way according to the cultural norms and traditions of the particular country.

Cultural role playing is especially prevalent while preparing to work in cultures in the middle east and Asia where the customs, traditions and norms are often very different to what American citizens are exposed to as they are usually born and raised in the United States.

Often times, cultural role playing consists of having natives of the target culture dress, speak and act like the people who are currently living in that country. As they are doing this, the participants will attempt to communicate with them effectively while accomplishing tasks that support their mission. Each training session is often closed with a discussion on what the participants could have done differently, answering any questions that came up in the scenario and offering constructive criticism to the participants for when they are in a real situation that requires them to use the skills and cultural competency acquired in these trainings.

A good indicator of an effective cultural role player is that he or she has had many years of experience living and communicating in both the target culture as well as the culture that he or she is teaching to the learners. This indicates that the cultural role player has a strong grasp of the customs, traditions and cultural norms of both groups and can readily identify and explain the differences that the participants will experience while they are working abroad.

Using cultural role playing as a training tool will help troops and other groups that intend to work abroad not only be able to work and communicate effectively with a different group of people, but they will also gain more understanding about the native peoples' perspectives. This, in turn, will prevent debilitating misunderstandings between the two groups of people and will make for a more positive outcome at the end of any project.

As groups from the United States continue to be involved abroad, cultural role playing will grow to be an increasingly prevalent training method that will help groups prepare for the differences they will find while working with another culture.

Nisar Nikzad is a freelance writer of informational websites on Translation Services. He is associated with Translation Excellence that provides language translation, medical, legal, certified translation, english-to-arabic-translation, government translation and interpretation services. Accurate and effective interpretation services.


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Animal Testing By Cosmetics Companies

We all use cosmetics to some extent. Most men, women, and even kids use some beauty products to look good. But did you know that the very same products that you use and love, were tested on innocent animals before they were presented to you in pretty packaging? It is a fact that most beauty products available on the market today, have been tested on animals. And the cosmetics companies will not deny it.

The Draize Test

Here is one of the most common tests conducted on animals when testing a beauty product for safety. In 1944, an FDA toxicologist named John H. Draize devised what later came to be known as the Draize test. The basic premise of the test is to evaluate the risks that one could be subject to, when exposed to new cosmetics products for a short period of time.

Here is how it is done. A small amount of the substance to be tested, in this case your moisturizer or shampoo, is applied either to the eyes or on the skin of an animal for hours in a row. If it is in the eyes, the animal is strapped into a contraption that keeps it from touching its face, the eye lids are clamped open, and drops of the product are put into the eyes. For the equally horrific skin version of the test, the animal's fur is shaved, then several layers of skin are removed, and only then is the substance applied to the raw skin and then covered with a plastic sheet.

The animal is then under observation for a couple of weeks to see if the product causes any irritation.

Have you ever gotten shampoo into your eyes by mistake? Know how it burns? Now imagine not being able to immediately splash some water and wash it away for a week or two. That is what the animal has to go through. And that is what you are indirectly condoning every time you buy a product that is tested on an animal. Ignorance is no excuse.

The tests are obviously painful. The animals are put to death after the tests. The cosmetics companies treat animals like things, not living beings. They are only kept alive for as long as they are useful, after which they are discarded like so much unwanted garbage. This is completely wrong and we all must appose it.

Thus, to show your disapproval to the above test and similar tests, do not buy products that are animal tested. Some day, this will stop if all of us work together.

So the next time you go online, instead of searching for something as regular as free makeup advice, try to make a difference in the world by reading up on animal testing. Learn about cosmetic companies that test on animals and boycott their products.


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Sexual Nuclear Meltdown

At a quarter to 6:00 on March 11, 2011 an earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, 45 miles from the Oshika peninsula in northern Japan. The earthquake reported 9.0 on the rector scale and sent shock waves that were felt as far away as the Pacific Coast of North America. The Tohoku Earthquake triggered a 30 foot full tsunami wave that within minutes barreled into the northeastern coast of Japan. Cities like Ishinomaki, Miyagi and Onagawa were literally swept from the face of the earth. The latest count in confirmed deaths is more than 11,000 and nearly 18,000 people are still unaccounted for. The earthquake and tsunami did severe damage to several nuclear reactors including the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Explosions occurred, electrical power that ran crucial cooling pumps was knocked out. And within days a nuclear meltdown started to occur.

We have lived through some life changing events, Sept. 11, 2001, the economic crash of 2008. But it remains to be seen if this cataclysmic event will change our world in a way that not one of us can predict or anticipate. I submit to you that this kind of sweeping 3-fold, iconic transformation is not without precedent. You, in many ways are living in the radiation aftermath of another unprecedented societal earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown.

In the late 1940's a wave of soldiers returned home to America from WWII. They found wives that had of necessity left the comforts of home to enter the work force and did not want to return. Those repatriated husbands and emancipated wives began to have babies in record numbers. Baby boomers they were called and I am one of them, the largest single generation in the history of the world. Twenty years later, that wave of baby-boomers began to place their stamp of influence on the culture of America. They were put off by the work ethic of their depression era parents. They were moved to liberation by the same radical thinking that produced the civil rights movement and women's lib. And they were delivered from the fear of unwanted pregnancy by the newly approved birth control pill. Some time in the 1960's an earthquake hit the world that we call "the sexual revolution". The hippies of history that are almost a caricature today really did introduce free love, sex without consequences, and a morality of self-gratification.

By 1962, 1.2 million women were using the pill. The number of young people that were having sex outside of marriage had skyrocketed and the epicenter of the Great Society (as Lyndon Johnson called it) became a conglomerate of social acceptance and sexual promiscuity - - the earth quake. Not long after the sexual earth quake of the 60's came the tsunami of the 70's, 80's and 90's; an openly sexual culture that not only condoned but propagated sexuality as separate from marriage or religious mores. Beginning as a gentle swell the tsunami ballooned through TV, advertising, and print media to literally overwhelm our culture and our world with images and expressions of sex and sexual connectedness. At the height of that wave was a confluence of pornographic material and the easy access of the internet. This porn tsunami continues to drown our world in a morass of sexual debris. Today it looks something like this: - In the US, we spend $3,075 dollars every second on pornographic material - There is a porn video produced every 39 minutes in the U.S. - World-wide $98 billion dollars in revenue is earned by the porn industry per year. (More than MLB, MBA, and NFL combined). - In the US, more people view porn each evening than ABC, CBS and NBC combined. There are 4.2 million pornographic websites (12% of the internet). - Last week 53% of American men viewed at least one pornographic website and 94 million women (that is a 17% increase since 2007). - Last year Hollywood released about 200 first-run movies. In 2008, the US produced 13,588 pornographic films. Tsunami is a mild word for the sweeping destruction that has overtaken our society as a result of the earthquake of the sexual revolution. But that is not what I want to talk about. I want to talk to you about living in the nuclear radioactive fall-out of the meltdown that has occurred.

First, there is a loss of intimacy. Genesis 2:24 says "For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife and they will become one flesh." We are created for intimate relationships. God created male and female to be united sexually face to face, different from all other created beings. This one flesh intimacy is the design of God to bring completeness and wholeness to His most beloved creation. Let's talk about the brain. The limbic system or mammalian brain such areas in the human being as emotions, desires, drives and impulses. This includes sexual impulses. When we experience sexual attraction the neurotransmitter dopamine floods the brain and triggers feelings of pleasure, and reward. It neuro-chemically activates your feel good, whether it's sex, eating, exercising or chocolate. Dopamine is the craving or the "I've got to have it" neurotransmitter. The more dopamine you release positive reinforcement you experience. It is called the cocaine of the brain. So whether it's viewing pornography, or an intimate sexual relationship, the brain begins to crave the adrenal rush. Three other things happen. There is a lower serotonin level. Serotonin is the flexibility chemical that enables me to change my mind, reconsider, back-up. So I become stuck or obsessed with this sexual thinking. Second, the pre-frontal cortex disengages. This is the judgment system or safety system of the brain so that my ability to make good choices is hampered. Finally, oxytocin is released in the brain. Oxytocin is the bonding chemical. One of the times when oxytocin is most present is during childbirth. At childbirth a mother's oxytocin level is 500 times its normal level. So, it's no wonder when that little baby is placed in the mother's arms, she bonds immediately. When these chemical interactions are repeatedly taking place without the subsequent object of affection upon which to attach they become watered down and weakened. The ability to connect is in danger and we lose our healthy facility for intimacy.

I saw a young father a few years ago. I'll call him Jamie. Jamie was a good guy. He had a wife and a couple of kids. He was involved in his church. He also was a chronic, addicted pornography user. One day he just walked out on his family. He left his wife, left his kids, left his life. When I met with him he said, "I just don't care anymore. I don't feel like I have it in me to love any of them." Repeated sexual connectedness to images on a computer screen took from him his ability to be intimate.

The second tragedy that comes as a result of this nuclear meltdown is a loss of identity. In Genesis 1:26 God says "Let us make man in our image. In the image of God He made them, male and female, created He them." Here I want to talk about the heart. Psychologists for sixty years have understood the importance and value of self-differentiation. I am born into a family and my identity, my personhood begins there. I have my father's eyes. I talk like my mother. You and your brother act just alike. Athletically, intellectually, and socially, all my identity is given me by my family of origin. At some point around 11 or 12 I begin to differentiate, to stand on my own and find my own identity. Then the characteristics of the other becomes, not my identity, but a reflection, an image. Like a mirror I reflect the other's image in my own. So God says, "Let us make man in our image". We are not God but we reflect the image of God. It's who we are. Now, as we begin to connect sexually, we give a piece of ourselves, our identity to the other and we take their reflection into our own identity. I exchange a part of who I am with who my sexual partner is. We begin to reflect each other. Whether human sexual contact or pornography use, each time we connect we exchange some of our identity with the other. That's why two old people who have been married for a long time begin to look alike or why a room full of addicts have a similar appearance. The more I exchange myself with another, the more my own God-given image is diluted until I become a complex reflection of all the others but not of myself. I lose who I am.

I'll call her Sally. She came to Branches about 3 years ago to seek spiritual guidance and to deal with depression. Over the next two years I met with her on a regular basis and began to understand the depth of her struggle. Sally had been viscously and repeatedly sexually abused from her earliest childhood until well into adulthood. After that her life was a series of dozens of sexual partners and encounters, sometimes several sex partners at once. As I began to hear her it became apparent that she had given away her identity. So much so that we discover at least 15 separate personalities living in her. We call that DID, or Dissociative Identity Disorder. And in fact the real true self, Sally, was dead. The primary presenting identity only spoke for her and assumed her place in society but announced finally that Sally was dead. I know this is an extreme illustration but it speaks to the loss of identity that we face as a result of surrendering to the radioactive fallout of our sexual culture.

Finally, there is a loss of influence. This has to do with the soul. I Cor. 6:19 says "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God?" We are born, every one of us, with a spark of the Divine in us, the presence of God. When we invite Christ into our lives and become Christ followers, we receive not only forgiveness and His righteousness, we receive the full blown spirit of God living inside us. Galatians 2:20 says "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me." The God of the universe, the Triune Godhead dwells fully in you. In part He dwells in you for the sake of influence. We're called to be world changers. We're called and empowered to change the universe, maybe not the entire created universe, maybe not the 8 billion people on the planet, but the world in which we live, our part, our circle of influence. There are some people I believe that God has planned for you to reach and He dwells in you for that very purpose - influence. Paul says that every time we give ourselves to this radioactive fallout of sexual permissiveness the God influence in us is diminished. I Cor. 6: 13-17 says "The body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. By His power God raised the Lord from the dead and He will raise us also.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ Himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said 'the two will become one flesh'. But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit." The great fear of the radioactive contagion in Japan is its potential to spread geographically and genealogically. Lettuce and milk from the Miyagi prefect around the Fukushima plant is showing up in other regions of Japan. Wind above the nuclear reactor is drifting toward North America. And the children and grandchildren yet to be born from those affects will potentially bear the deformities of this destructive force. The loss of intimacy and identity is tragic and painful for you. If I could somehow keep you from that pain, I would. But a far greater tragedy is the loss of influence when you leave this campus, when you leave this room. There are friends and families that are desperate for the spirit of God in you and the loss of influence over them and over your children, and over your children's children is unimaginable.

One more story, I'll call him Mike. Actually his name is Mike. He is me. I was privileged to be the pastor of two great churches. I would preach every Sunday to hundreds of people and influence them, their families, and their communities for good and for God. I was in a place and a position to change a pretty big part of the world. But radioactive sickness got the best of me. I succumbed to the sexual fallout from the earthquake of the 60's and the tsunami of the next 3 decades. I gave into sexual sin and I lost my identity. Now don't get me wrong, God has healed me. He has restored my family, my walk with Him, and in many ways, my purity. I am so grateful for Branches and am amazed at the number of lives that are changed daily by that ministry. But the influence I had as a pastor and preacher is gone. I will never occupy the pulpit in the same way. I lost that influence because of my moral failure. I do not want you to lose your intimacy. I am warning you about the loss of identity. But the most devastating thing of all is to lose your ability to influence your kids, your friends, your family, the people you work with. Don't you dare lose that. Don't you put that at risk. My kids, my grandkids need you and your influence. Don't you let them down. The earthquake has come and gone and we are beginning to rebuild in its aftermath. The tsunami has passed. We have buried the dead and cleared away the debris. But the nuclear fallout is with us in every breath we take. We have got to be aware of it, stand against it, and overcome it. And you can do that. You must do that.

Here are 5 steps to help you: 1. Make a moral commitment now to sexual purity. 2. Decide right now your sexual boundaries. 3. Establish accountability partners to support your purity. 4. Ask for and accept God's offer of secondary virginity. 5. Keep the faces of those you may influence ever before you.

Paul says, "We are new creatures in Christ Jesus. Old things are passed away. All things are made new." I don't know all there is to know about the tragedies and disasters in Japan. I do know that if history is a reference and if God gives us grace, the world will overcome these things and life will go on. The question will be whether or not we go on better or we revert to our old ways of living. In the same way, we can survive the sexual fallout in our world. We can be new creatures in Christ. The question for you is will you be better or simply live life like you always have. I encourage you to strive for better.

Mike Courtney, Ph.D.
Licensed Pastoral Counselor
Executive Director, Branches Recovery Center
http://www.branchesrecoverycenter.com/
Author of "Failure And How I Achieved It"


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Against All Odds [VHS]

Against All Odds [VHS]James Woods doesn't get to play many romantic leads--and he certainly doesn't get the girl in this handsome, if occasionally hollow, remake of Out of the Past. As the mover-and-shaker lover of Rachel Ward, he loses her--if only temporarily--to ex-football star Jeff Bridges. Woods captures the insecurity behind a man of power who understands that the women in his life love his money first. But he also shows us the real tenderness that kept Ward close when money lost its glitter. Bridges is at his best, playing the should-have-been trying to keep his future from repeating his dead-end past. Look for actress Jane Greer (who played the Ward role in the 1947 original opposite Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas) in a small role. --Marshall Fine

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RARE VINTAGE VHS: Maharaji, Madrid, Spain (Maharaji - Prem Rawat & His Message) **FREE RARE VINTAGE PAPERBACK: The Inward Pilgrimage: Spiritual Classics From Augustine To Bonhoeffer By Bernhard Christensen

**OWN THIS RARE, IMPOSSIBLE-TO-FIND VINTAGE VHS Unavailable Anywhere -- Including His Own Web Site! Enjoy Teachings Of Prem Rawat, Known Around The World By His Honorary Title 'Maharaji'. From Maharaji, 'Hear Your Own Heart's Cry, 'I Want Freedom.' Someone Must Win! Sometimes We Sit And The Moments Are Lost, Each Moment Being A Little Soldier; And As Time Goes On, The Soldiers Are Sacrificed. The War Of All Wars. No War Can Be Greater Than The Inner Human Conflict. Every Human Being Like A King Watches The Tyranny Of This Incredible War. You Are The King And You Must Decide...' **ENJOY FREE VINTAGE PAPERBACK: 1976 First Printing, 'The Inward Pilgrimage,' By Bernhard Christernsen.

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The Evolution of Ink and Its Usage in Society

The following is a brief and selective history of the evolution of the usage ink from monks transcribing documents in medieval times to bloggers of the present day.

Northern England, 1323, a monastery: A studious man sits quietly anchored to his desk, penitent and devout as he attends to a seemingly endless task. He has a copy of the Bible in front of him, handwritten by some other monk, that he is copying page by page in a show of his faith. It will be months if not years before he is done, until every page is immaculately rendered, and then the cycle will begin anew. It will be another century before the invention of the printing press gives monks vast blocks of time they never had. This is how books get made.

London, 1590, the Globe Theater: It's been a century and a half now since a former goldsmith named Johannes Guttenberg built the first printing press off of existing screw processes, and the world of printing has come a long way. Nearly 200 million volumes have been printed, and among them is work after work by a playwright with a theater next to the Thames River. William Shakespeare will enjoy modest success and praise in his lifetime and not be a celebrity until two centuries after his death, though the works he publishes will endure to the current day.

Boston, 1850, a factory: Another few hundred years have passed, and printing and the world in general have undergone another metamorphosis. The weaver sits at her loom late into the evening, the sun long since given its notice for the day, the smoke from the oil lamps in her workplace blackening the walls. For her six days and 70 hours of work this week, she will earn approximately $3.25 (about $84 in today's money). Conditions will not change much within her lifetime, though literature has already began to reflect the emergence of the Industrial Revolution. It is making note of her struggles, if only for posterity.

New York, 1909, the streets: It is the best of times to own a newspaper in New York. It is the worst of times. Because of an ever-burgeoning immigrant population as well as a heavy volume of other transplants to America's most populous city, there are now 11 daily newspapers (eight of which will be long-dead a century later.) They are publications with names like World, American, and Mirror, newspapers that fight pitched battles between each other in the battle for supremacy, sending their paperboys out like foot soldiers. Rivers could run black with all the ink in use.

Sydney, current day, a living room: The blogger sits on a barstool at his counter, laptop before him, tapping out his post for the day. His canvas is the Web, his audience digital, and it's rare for him to furnish physical copies of his work. There's simply no need for it. This is what printing has come to. Sure, the blogger has a few unopened Canon ink cartridges in his closet that may be of use at some point in the future but the Internet provides its own means of vast distribution, and in a sense things have come full circle. The blogger is a monk of the modern age.

John Sheenan is the author of this article on the history of ink from monks to ink cartridges and bloggers. John distributes Canon ink cartridges for a living.


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McSteven's Cocoa Combos Chocolate and Bacon Drink Mix, 7-Ounce Cans (Pack of 3)

McSteven's Cocoa Combos Chocolate and Bacon Drink Mix, 7-Ounce Cans (Pack of 3)Oddly delicious flavor combinations will make Cocoa Combos your new favorites. Chocolate and Bacon is a unique blend with a savory bite.

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USPS Launches Its First Socially Aware Forever Stamp

Following up the success of the first "Forever Stamps"-a First Class stamp that can be bought at today's prices and used well, forever - the USPS has just launched another. First in the USPS's Social Awareness series, each of the 16 stamps on the sheet offers low and no-cost tips to save energy and natural resources. And the predominant color is green. Naturally. For instance, the stamps suggest using reusable shopping bags...fixing water leaks...using energy efficient light bulbs...maintaining tire pressure...switching off lights when not in use. You know the drill. You've heard it before. These are the simple things that your parents tried to tell you about responsible behavior. Now the USPS is telling you, too. Nag. Nag. Nag. Maybe you should listen this time. But beyond the obvious value of preserving life on earth, there may be a financial benefit to using these stamps. Actuaries and Uncle Scrooge, take note!

Consider this: If you send 200 Christmas cards each year and you figure you've still got 30 Christmases ahead of you, that's 6,000 stamps you'll be licking in December. Maybe you mail 20 birthday cards, bills and miscellaneous whatnots each month. 20 x 12 months in a year x 30 years. That's another 7200 stamps over 30 years. Total: 13,200 First Class stamps in your future.

Buy in bulk today and pay just 44 cents forever. So even if rates go up, you're protecting your position at 44 cents. No more postal inflation. Future rate hikes be damned! For a measly $5808 investment today you've protected yourself against future First Class postage rate increases. Buy today and save enough $$$ in 50 years to put your great grandchildren through college! Or at least buy them a beer after class.

Now if the USPS simply invests that $5808 at 8%, in 64 years it will be worth big bucks! The mind boggles with possibilities. It's like buying futures when you can actually see into the future. It's so good it oughta be illegal.

The mind also boggles with possibilities of what will happen to our planet if more of us don't recycle, conserve water and use less energy. $4 a gallon for gas is just the tip of the iceberg. Oh yes, and the real icebergs-and the polar bears, walruses and seals who depend on them-will soon be just a bittersweet memory, relegated to the History Channel.

So consider this stamp a winning trifecta. Save the planet, just a bit, save some $$ in the bargain, and maybe most important of all, get ego-boosting "I told you so" points for reminding your less-than-aware friends about the importance of conserving our natural resources.

Way to go, Post Office!

Ellen is President of Paul&Partners, Inc, a full service direct marketing company in Northern Virginia where she watches the environment from her windows and keeps an eye on the USPS for her clients.

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Mullahs in Nation-Building

There is no doubt in my mind that when Mr. Jinnah mobilized the Muslim identity as a marker of difference from Majority Hindus, it was only a strategic assertion. The creation of a new and separate homeland for the Muslims of India, in Muslim majority areas, depended on this assertion but nowhere in Jinnah's arguments can we find convincing proof that he had envisioned this future state to be an Islamic state. In fact, Ayesha Jalal (The Sole Spokesman) quite convincingly suggests that Jinnah would have been rather happy in a confederacy in which the Muslims were given a parity in the future national assembly.

However, it is no surprise that the very slogan that was essential to mobilize a nationalist movement has now come to haunt us: the slogan has become the truth. This articulation of the nation, in which the slogan becomes the truth, manifested itself immediately after the creation of Pakistan, Remember, we were told that Pakistan was not able to create and ratify a constitution until 1956: we were taught this in high school. But no one bothered to teach us that, besides other things, what delayed the writing and adoption of the constitution was the fight between the Islamists-who wanted a strict Islamic state-and those opposed to a purely Islamic articulation of the nation. This fight, or aporia, thus is within the very fiber of our national genealogy.

In essence what kind of nation we would be if all that the diverse groups of mullahs continue to insist on from their pulpits, through media channels, and through their published works. Here is a possible sample:

‧ A nation in which women have less rights than men.
‧ A nation in which non-Muslims have less rights than Muslims.
‧ A nation in which feudal system can still thrive, as there are no strictures against it.
‧ A nation in which justice is harsh and immediate: sometimes without due process and sometimes meted out by private individuals.

So, in its true essence, the mullahs want to abolish modernity, retrieve an eighth century politics, and then posit it as a recipe for our national future. The constitutive power of this vision, therefore, is always an idealized past upon which the present can have no bearing as the discourse of the present is not authentic enough to form a new constitutive force for the future.

In posting their views about a purely Islamist nation, the mullahs mobilize varied historical narratives without ever acknowledging that history is always inherently textual: we know of it because it has been written down. The mere acceptance of this fact allows us to imagine that if the history is a record then it must contain, unless written by a computer, the temporal, spatial and personal biases and ideologies of those who recorded it. History, therefore, is never unmotivated and if mobilized uncritically can undermine the present and seriously damage the future in the name of tradition.

By and large, after the Zia-ul-Haq years, we have totally conceded the public sphere to the mullahs: you cannot think the nation without running into one or the other bizarre articulations of the nation by one or the other mullah. Somehow, it seems, that their answer to all our problems is more religion. But more religion has not really solved any of our problems. In fact, since the foregrounding of a religious national identity we have become a more intolerant, sexist, racist, and chauvinistic society.
Of course, it is not the religion that is to be blamed for it. But the politicized and militaristic interpretations of certain aspects of religion play an important role in this. In pretty much all debates about the role of religion in the public sphere, the mullahs mobilize religion only as a system of justice. Yes, Islam has certain laws about justice, but is there no love in our religion? And if there is love, mhuhabbah, then how come it does not shine through in our public undertakings.

The recent murders of Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti are two important cases in point: both these persons were murdered by "Muslims" because they had, by opposing a destructive law, somehow, blasphemed. What kind of a civil society allows public citizens to be murdered by private citizens as an act of popular justice? And if that kind of murder is permissible, then why have the blasphemy laws? Why not just accept that people themselves have the right to judge and punish their own fellow human beings.

Sadly, the rise of private media has not, in any way, diminished the role of half-baked theories of the mullahs; the private media, in fact, have provided the mullahs with a much larger frame and enabled them to spread their vitriol to larger audiences.

There can be no short-term solution to this problem of perpetuation of hate in the name of tradition and religion. A good start would be to, at least, pass some hate-speech legislation: a law that forbids any acts of rhetorical violence against any group, individual or entity. This could at least regulate speech in the public sphere; it may not affect what the mullahs are saying in their mosques, but at least there they can be told to keep it to their own captive audiences.

On the whole, having read and followed the public debates by most of Pakistani religious leaders and scholars, I, in all due humility, can say very positively that I have found nothing in their articulations of the Pakistani nation that can create a viable, pluralistic, and compassionate nation-state for all those who call themselves Pakistanis.

Source: http://www.freshwrites.net/2011/03/31/mullahs-in-nation-building-2/

Author of Constructing Pakistan (Oxford University press, 2011) Masood Raja is an assistant professor of literature and the editor of Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies. Raja is also the founding editor of Fresh Writes ( http://freshwrites.net/ ), a community-themed writing website.


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Edvard Munch [VHS]

Edvard Munch [VHS]Positing itself as a live documentary filmed between 1884-1894, director Peter Watkins' experimental biography of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch(played by Geir Westby) is an angst-ridden glimpse into the traumatic political and social conditions that birthed Munch's invention of Expressionism. Tracing Munch's rise to infamy, the film begins in Victorian-era Christiania (Oslo), where Munch spent his formative years with a family plagued by disease. It then follows Munch to Berlin, where after studying Symbolism and befriending August Strindberg, Munch finds the impetus to create honest work that mimics his life rife with disconnect and rejection, despite scathing reviews by conservative art critics for his "nervous dissolving treatment of color." Plot-heavy scenes set in his studio and elsewhere are interrupted, as if by Munch's own obsessive memories, by shots of his lost true love, "Mrs. Heiberg" (Gro Fraas), accentuating the loneliness and longing Munch feels for this unattainable married woman. As the film's somber color palette alternates between black and blue, Munch's preferred "colors of death," Munch's interior thoughts are conveyed through Watkins' experimentation with sound and film. The sound made by Munch's brush scratching canvas is, at times, unbearably magnified, for example, and visual montages featuring close-ups of the artist's facial expressions elucidate Munch's disturbed emotional states and fragile nerves. The film's expressive qualities emulate the artist's stylistic approach to his art-making, making Edvard Munch an especially convincing artist's biopic. --Trinie Dalton

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History of the Jack O'Lantern

Halloween celebrations are incomplete if you do not take time to carve your Jack O'Lantern. While many of us painstaking carve our pumpkins, we have no clue about its history.

It is believed that the tradition of carving pumpkins with amusing and scary faces began when Irish immigrants landed in America. The Irish used to turnips in Ireland, but on reaching America, they opted for a cheaper vegetable, the orange squash. Also, it is believed that turnips were not that easily available during those days in the US.

According to legends and myths, the Irish practice of carving turnips began way back in the 1700s. It is believed that a man named Drunk Jack, one day, met a very special guest in his local pub. This guest was none other than Satan. However, Satan was not considered to be good drinking buddy as he used to get his companions to pay the large pub bill and often take their souls. The day Jack met Satan was on Halloween night.

Irish are known even today for their drinking abilities. So, Jack although a heavy drinker did not lose his wits in presence of Satan. Instead, he offered a deal to him. He told Satan that if he would pay for the drinks, then Jack would be willing to give his soul to Satan in return. Pleased by the deal, Satan took up the offer. However, instead of paying for the drinks, Satan turned himself into a coin. On seeing this Jack grabbed the coin and pushed it into his money purse which also contained a silver crucifix. This led to Satan getting imprisoned in the purse. However, Satan wanted to get out, so he made a deal with Jack. He promised that Jack could spend another 10 years of his life on Earth before Satan returned to take his soul.

When the 10 years came to an end, Satan came to take Jack's soul. Jack pretended that he was all set to accompany Satan to Hell. However, he asked Satan to give pluck an apple from the apple tree. Satan climbed the tree and then Jack carved a crucifix on the tree, once again trapping Satan. This time, Jack asked Satan to release his soul in exchange for freedom. And, Satan had to agree.

When Jack finally died, he made his way to the Pearly Gates, but was denied entry into Heaven because of his alcoholism and other bad misdeeds. As a result, Jack was sent to Hell. But even in Hell, Satan refused entry to Jack, damning his soul forever. However, Satan felt sorry for Jack and gave him an ember taken from the fires of Hell. Jack put the ember into a carved turnip to light the way through eternal darkness as his soul stayed suspended between Heaven and Hell.

The Irish believed on Halloween night Jack and other damned souls like him come to visit people. Hence, to ward off these damned souls, they began carving turnips and lighting a candle in them.

When the Irish came to America, they found it difficult to get turnips, so they began using pumpkins. Slowly, the practice of placing carved pumpkins spread across the country and now Jack O'Lantern is a normal fixture and decoration on Halloween night.

About Author:
Kum Martin is an online leading expert in history and education. He also offers top quality articles like:
Why Celebrate Halloween, History Behind Halloween


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2011/06/20

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The Immigrant Diasporas' Life: Living in Cultural Limbo Land

The truth about Diasporas life is that, it is a personal experience. It is characterised by focusing on hard-work, thus robbing one of social life. It is about subjugated people who have regained control of their own destiny and taken up opportunities they see for a sustainable, independent and presumably bright future. It is about cultural identity, in terms of "shared culture" particularly people with a shared history and ancestry. This in essence reflects the common historical experiences and cultural codes, norms, values, beliefs etc. This "cultural identity" defines what the immigrant has become due to the surrounding environment, constantly undergoing transformation. It is from this perspective that we can understand the traumatic character of Diasporas' life experience - "cultural limbo land" creates an individual "without an anchor, without horizon, colourless, stateless, rootless... etc."While the past continues to speak to the immigrant, it no longer addresses what makes the Diasporas survive because the immigrants' relationship to it is betwixt - thus it becomes more unsettling and problematic.

However, it is characteristic of humans to need to make meaning out of experience and forming a cultural identity is part of that task. Formulating a cultural identity allows one to interpret and evaluate experience and helps to orient oneself in time and space. It creates ties between an individual and a society, thus providing a sense of belonging but also instilling the obligation to adopt and follow certain normative behaviours and values. But what happens when an individual does not possess a cultural identity?

Necessity, But at a Cost!!

What you will find and how will you be treated when you live in a foreign country?

How will you get along not knowing the culture, social life, customs and having your new country not knowing yours?

If the individual possesses more than one identity due to circumstances involving emigration, some of the possible results are psychological confusion, cognitive dissonance and anomic (lacking normative guidelines to follow). Without a solid cultural identity, individuals become disconnected, disoriented and alienated from society. Due to their vulnerable position in Diaspora, immigrants are at risk for developing a host of problems, including depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug abuse and other maladaptive coping behaviours. Some migrants manage to assimilate quickly and easily, but most do not. The majority of immigrants struggle with problems that arise when attempting to change their cultural identity from home to that of their host country. They end up with two competing cultural identities and in some cases they feel as if they possess no identity at all.

To fully understand how some of these cultural identity crisis and how the process of migration affects cultural identity, it is worthwhile to examine the work of an important social anthropologist whose cultural analysis can help shed light on this discussion - Victor Turner, Rites of Passage and the Process of Identity Change.

Make No mistake about it.... Making the ultimate decision to emigrate requires courage, resilience, endless patience and persistence. To many it means not starting over, but starting from scratch and the ability to positively adapt to the new environment. It means the individual must develop strategies to cope with the impact on a person's self-esteem, in some cases divorce, loss of friends, your credential and your job history.

My name Is Nobel Pasi

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http://www.diasporasecrets.blogspot.com/


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Does Montezuma's Treasure Really Exist?

Montezuma's treasure has been on people's minds for ages. The question is, does it really exist? When Cortez arrived in Mesoamerica in the early 1500s, Montezuma thought he was the Great White God Quetzalcoatl, who had promised to return one day. It didn't take long for Montezuma to realize that he had made a mistake. Cortez was a cruel man and began treating the Aztecs abominably. The king, for his own reasons, refused to fight Cortez, but the people had had enough and decided to rebel.

After a great and terrible battle, the Spanish conquistadors were driven back, away from Tenochtitlan, Mexico. During this rebellion, Montezuma was killed, either by the Spaniards or his own people. No one knows for sure. While the Spaniards were taking care of their wounded, the Aztecs quickly bundled up their treasure and took off with it. They had to protect it with their lives because it was sacred. For years, they kept the treasure in honor of their god when he returned. It was a gift to Quetzalcoatl and was estimated at around $10,000,000 worth of gold and jewels.

Is this just a myth? A legend? Cortez actually left a record telling about the Aztec gold. In 1519, his chronicler, Bernal Diaz, recorded what he saw in the village: "All the riches of the world were in that room." Diaz said that he saw a golden wheel in the form of a sun that was as big as a cartwheel with pictures engraved upon it. There was a silver one, which was an imitation of the moon, and golden statuettes in the shape of jaguars. When Cortez finally won the battle and entered the room where the treasure was kept, he found nothing. After searching the whole village, he found a few statues, which had been thrown in the lake. The Aztecs tried to hide what they didn't take with them. They didn't think he would look in a lake. The archeologists figured the rest had been transported to a faraway land where Cortez would never find the treasure.

The search for Montezuma's treasure has intrigued many people. In 1914, an old prospector by the name of Freddy Crystal had a newspaper clipping of Anasazi art. It was a photograph of a petroglyph engraved on the side of a cliff located in Johnson Canyon, not far from Kanab, Utah. The petroglyph was similar to the etchings on a treasure map he had found years earlier. After searching the canyon for two long years, he left and returned in 1920 with another map he had obtained in Mexico. It was a copy of a four hundred-year-old maguey map that he found in a depository of a Mexican monastery.

Maguey is a fibrous plant that is cultivated in Mexico. Years ago they used it like paper and it lasted for centuries. Freddy said that he met a descendant of Montezuma who gave his interpretation of the second map. It showed a canyon with seven mountains: four mountains to the north, one on the east side, one on the west, and another on the south. That described the topography of Kanab to a tee. The petroglyphs matched his first map, but the topography matched his second map. The second one had more details. It showed steps on the side of a mountain and marshland below. White Mountain just happened to have steps carved into the sandstone that ascended more than one hundred feet. The only exception was the marshland, which didn't exist. According to Freddy, marshlands dry up so he didn't worry about it.

Freddy Crystal promised to share the treasure with all the townsfolk in Kanab if they helped him dig and search for it. For the next two years, at the bottom of White Mountain, a large tent city was erected and townsfolk went everyday to help Freddy search for the gold. All the stores and businesses shut down every day so they could dig. It was an exciting time for everyone.

The town of Kanab was unlike any other town in the United States. They had elected a mayor and a city council of all women, something unheard of in 1920. Women's rights were not yet recognized in the East. It was the first petticoat government in all history. In fact, these good women made sure the county court opened and closed with prayer every time they met. Wow! A petticoat government! How awesome is that!

When the townsfolk agreed to help Freddy, Kanab's city council voted to not have any publicity about the treasure because they didn't want the word to get out. If that happened, people from all over the country would invade their little town and no one wanted that. They remembered what happened to California and the gold rush. So, if anyone uttered the word "treasure," they were fined.

They dug and blasted until they found a cave with a series of rooms. They actually found tunnels with booby-traps, but no gold. Three boulders almost killed Freddy as they fell to the ground. He claimed they had been set on purpose by the Aztecs. When no gold was found, they figured the Aztecs had moved the treasure to another spot. After everyone gave up, Freddy left...disappeared...never to be seen again.

Every now and then someone will find the "Aztec Treasure Sign" but no treasure. Many tribes believe that the treasure is protected. But protected by whom? Legend says that after hiding everything from Cortez, the tribe designated certain guardians to protect the treasure. If someone gets too close, they will do everything in their power to protect it and quickly move it to another spot. Some people believe their spirits still guard it today.

So where is Montezuma's treasure? Does it still exist? Is it hidden among the Utah Mountains? It's still a mystery to this day. The subject was so intriguing to me that I sat down and began writing my new mystery/adventure novel: Montezuma Intrigue. This book is about mysterious events, the search for Montezuma's treasure, a good-looking rogue, and family secrets. How important is it to learn about the past? When a leather parchment of Montezuma's map is found in great-grandfather Evans' old chest, April and the twins know this summer is going to be a memorable one.

Written by Linda Weaver Clarke, author of Montezuma Intrigue: The Adventures of John and Julia Evans mystery series. To learn more, visit http://www.lindaweaverclarke.com/.


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The Osama Kill: A New Era of Hi-Tech Death Squads

In a spectacular night operation US gunship helicopters flew to Abbottabad, Pakistan to kill Osama Bin Laden: This has been the biggest story in the last week and if you are not aware of it you probably do live in a cave. I have no qualms about Osama's death: He was a mass murderer of innocent people and died of the same kind of violence that he himself idealized and perpetuated.

What I question here is the new era of death squads. Previously, two nation-states have successfully used death squads to eliminate those that they deemed as people who had harmed their citizens, posed a threat to their security, or were declared "killable" due to their views about these two nations. This honor of sending death squads into foreign countries, ironically, was previously shared by Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

While there is not much written or said about Israeli death squads, the Irani death squads of the mid seventies raised quite a few hackles in the west. Trained and despatched to take out the fugitive leaders of the Shah's regime, the Iranian death squads specialized in killing all those deemed responsible for murdering Iranians during the Shah's regime. People like Daniel Pipes, one of the darlings of American neoconservatism, found this quite wrong: Pipes actually makes it the main point of his book on Salamn Rushdie. Pipes, of course, is silent about the Israeli death squads.

With the killing of Osama, we have now entered a highly technologized stage of death squad tactics. Here is what has happened: United States deployed its special forces to take out a wanted man while flying illegally over the territory of one its closest allies in the region. The operation also involved invasion of a house and then, of course, the execution of this wanted man.

As I said earlier, I don't care much about Osam's death, but this new precedence of a nation sending a death squad into the territory of another sets a dangerous precedence. And since the action was taken by the US government, it is even more dangerous as it will certainly be emulated by other nations. So, while most Americans are rejoicing over this victory, they should also keep in mind that if this kind of tactics is normalized, the world will become, at the least, quite an interesting place.

There is now a possibility that the mercenary security companies that do provide death squads to the corporations in Africa and South America could also start bidding for the contracts on such global ventures. The question is also deeply philosophical, especially about the very nature of modern state of exception. As Agamben has taught us, "the state of exception is the norm," so would this new phase of technologized kills now become a norm. I see no reason for it not becoming so: there is immense popular support for it in the US. How would this shift in the role of justice restructure our desires and expectations of justice itself? Would this instance make it convenient for sending our death squads to take out all those declared "killable" by a particular nation-state? Will the private citizens, or non-state agents, also use the same methods to take out their "killable" others?

As a Pakistani, naturally, my concern is mostly about Pakistan. It seems the Pakistan Army and the Pakistani intelligence agencies need to answer some very serious questions. And they are not answerable to the people of United States and its government but to their own people.

A simple question: How could have Osama lived so close to the Pakistan Military Academy, in a heavily guarded house without the ISI or the MI knowing about it? For five years?

A more serious question that the military brass must answer, preferably in a public National Assembly hearing, is about the failure of their conventional air defense systems in detecting the flight of US gunship helicopters over their territory? I am not suggesting that they should have prevented a strike on Osama, but that they should have, at least, detected it.

We say in Punjabi, which translates very crudely to English, "Do not rejoice on the death of your enemy, for those you love will also die one day." So, I have no reason to shout in joy on Osama's death: he was, as I said earlier, a washed out terrorist responsible for the murders of thousands of human beings, Muslim and non-Muslim. I would have proffered if he had died in obscurity of kidney failure.

I am also not worried much about Osama's death, somehow, mobilizing more fundamentalist terrorists in Pakistan: It seems that the mullahs and their fanatical followers were doing quite fine already and this is not likely to effect their "enrollment" rates much. The manner of Osama's death, however, has given him the kind of posthumous credential that a natural death would have denied him: for all practical purposes, in the eyes of his followers and sympathizers, he is a Shaheed. This, in the long run, would create and sustain the Bin Laden mythology for the Muslim fundamentalists. The techologized, hi-tech elimination of Osama bin Laden, it seems, will become, within the logic of mythic narratives, a fine didactic tool for the Alqaeda and other terrorist groups.

So, let us start working on a counternarrative of hope and life or this mythologized narrative of death will come to haunt us with its immense symbolic and material power.

(Source: http://www.freshwrites.net/2011/05/05/the-osama-kill-a-new-era-of-hi-tech-death-squads/)

Author of Constructing Pakistan (Oxford UP), Dr. Masood Ashraf Raja is an Assistant Professor of Postcolonial Literature and the editor of Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies. He is also the founding editor of Fresh Writes (http://freshwrites.net/), a community-themed writing website.


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How to Battle Bed Bugs - EPA Summit

How to battle bed bugs has become a priority for the EPA. These long time pests of humans are back and here to stay. These blood sucking pests have been a nuisance to man since ancient times. Although they pose no health risk to humans the physiological damage is intense. After World War II there was a fierce battle waged against these pests and for a while were brought to near extinction. The tiny pests developed an immunity to the pesticide DDT and other pesticides being used during this period. Since the population was eradicated to near extinction they were not considered a problem any longer.

The EPA has since banned many of these effective pesticides because they were found to be harmful to the environment and its inhabitants. Since the bans, their population has restored itself and the new generation is more adopted then their predecessors. Bed bugs have become virtually indestructible and todays pesticides have little effect on them. The problem has become so serious that the EPA deemed them the number one pest of importance in 2002.

Since then the population has been increasing at a very alarming rate. These insects are considered world travelers and may hop a ride on any mode of transportation such as planes, trains, boats, buses and arrive anywhere in the world. Our world has become a smaller place now and world travel is a common daily occurrence. As a result of this, species of all types are being relocated all over the world away from their indigenous environments. This on going relocation is causing chaos to the new environment they are being introduced to,the bed bug is one of these species.

Since their return to prominence they have become a large problem to our society causing problems in all sectors of our everyday life. We are a transient in nature and have aided the spread and repopulation of the common bed bug unknowingly and unwillingly. They have invaded our schools, offices, businesses, hotels, apartments, condos, homes, restaurants, theaters, and vacation spots.The previously mentioned places are just some of the locations these pests are showing up. So good at traveling that they can be anywhere at anytime, no individual can 100% prevent bedbugs from coming home with them.

Preventive measures can be taken to reduce the likelihood of bringing them home with you or having another person bringing them as an unwanted gift. Unfortunately a friend, a childs friend, a family member, a co-worker, or any number of people you may come in contact with may pass them on. Any place you may go puts you at risk of picking up the tiny blood suckers.The social stigma attached to an infestation leads to secrecy from a fear of being isolated from friends and neighbors and labeled as a person/family to avoid.

The EPA/CDC are being pressured to unite forces w/ the federal, state and local governments as well as professionals to come up with a solution to bring this epidemic under control. In 2009 the first ever Bed Bug Summit was held to bring light to this serious problem.The Federal Bed Bug Workgroup was formed to take on this problem and work with the different agencies and professionals to come up with solutions for battling these pests.

Since then not much has happened, a second Bed Bug Summit was held in Washington, DC on February 1-2, 2011. The goal was to revisit what progress, if any, has been made and are there any battle plans for the future. Known as formidable pests that are not easily exterminated,the pesticides on the market today are proving to have little or no effect. The exterminating professionals want to wage war but the EPA's ban on possible effective chemicals keeps them from doing so. Even if the EPA lifts the bans on certain chemicals doesn't mean all our problems will be solved. Getting rid of one problem may create a new more hazardous problem. The pesticides used to kill them may no longer work as well, since they have developed an immunity to them. The use of these pesticides may also have harmful effects on the environment and its inhabitants.

There is no denying that infestations have become a huge problem. New York City along with other major cities in the US are experiencing an explosion of confirmed infestations in their hotels, apartments, housing, entertainment venues and many other places. It is such a major issue that people are afraid to go out and do anything, thus putting a strain on an already struggling economy.

An infestation can be devastating on many levels, being informed can help in the prevention of one or knowing how to battle them if it occurs. Be informed and beware, they are out there looking for a home.

I'm an average person who became concerned about bed bug infestations after seeing segments on the local and national news,as well as in the newspapers. I began to search the internet for information about beds bugs and to my surprise there was an over abundance of information about this particular topic. As I investigated deeper I discovered what a huge problem bed bugs have become. I wrote this article to inform and educate people about the impending doom that is looming out there. Bed bugs are back and how to battle them has become a major concern to the EPA, CDC, Federal, State, and Local governments, and the average person who either has an infestation or is fearful of getting one.

http://www.howtobattlebedbugs.com/

http://www.howtobattlebedbugs.com/category/bed-bugs-2


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The History of PrideFest

PrideFest is a nationally celebrated event that is usually held in June. The festival is held in major cities across the United States as a celebration of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Many PrideFests have become a city wide festival that attracts food, music and parades that the entire community participates in as an opportunity to celebrate diversity.

And while hundreds of thousands of Americans gather to show their support for the GLBT community, the actual story of how this celebration came to be isn't as well known. The reason the country celebrates GLBT pride in late June every year, began in New York City in Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969.

In the early hours of morning that day, police raided a small bar named the Stonewall Inn, predominately known for its gay clientele. The club was invaded on a charge of illegal sale of alcohol and each customer was released except for the bar staff, three drag queens and two male-to-female transsexuals. During the raid a crowd began to gather outside of the bar, cheering each time a customer was released. But when the detainees were brought outside to be taken away, the crowd grew angry and a riot ensued. In the end, 13 people were arrested and some officers were injured during the commotion.

The next day and throughout the week, protesters would gather outside the closed-down bar. But they did not riot, many gay men from around the area showed up to protest the raid on the bar. But they were not violent, instead they protested by handholding, showing affection, and forming a chorus line. The police cleared the protests with no further altercations.

Later in July, gay activists gathered calling for a mass meeting and the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was formed on July 24, 1969. At that time there were only a few dozen gay organizations in the United States, and within a few years after that there were over 400. The GLF began gathering to remember this historic event every June and each year, the celebration grew.

Now every year these events are remembered in June across America as the beginning of a movement. Millions of people participate in pride events across the country. Large cities host giant celebrations like Milwaukee, Denver and Ft. Lauderdale where they are nationally known for the festivals they host. But it's important to remember it all began in New York City when a group of men stood up with pride.

The Curtis Hotel http://www.thecurtis.com/ is a unique retro-style hotel in downtown Denver that offers lower rates during Denver's PrideFest.


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Leave The Clown Alone

Ronald McDonald is coming under attack because obviously he's been peddling junk food to kids. I haven't seen those charges yet. But, the video should hit the net soon.

It's terrible to think that McDonald with his flaming hair and battery operated jump suit would be standing in an alley selling Big Macs and Quarter Pounders to the kids who need their fix. Getting them addicted to McDonald's at such an early age is a crime that is devastating our youth and destroying their lives. A close friend of mine was in an out of rehab for most of his life to get clean from his addiction to Mickey Dee's.

Criminal charges for being a food dealer have not been finalized. The judge has yet to sign off on the arrest warrant. But with those kinds of allegations, it is serious. It is something to be taken very seriously. So, all I can say to our youth is the same thing we've been telling them for years. Just Say No!

If you see McDonald coming, walk the other way. If you pass him in a back alley behind a McDonald's, just keep on passing. Don't engage in conversation. Don't even look his way! He will bring you down with him, man. That's what he does.

But to be totally honest, it actually falls into the hands of the parents. We should sit our children down and teach them the dangers of being addicted to Breakfast Burritos and Sweet Tea. Every morning, before they leave the house to walk into the real world all alone, hand them a condom, give them money for pot and make sure, by all means, that you educate them on the evils of the yellow arches.

Hamburger University offers college credits that can be transferred to such colleges as Strayer University, DeVry and even Penn State. But, we all know that it's the training ground for McDonald's peddlers to learn how to hustle Angus burgers. Ronald McDonald House Charities is a program put in place so that families can be united and be given a place to stay, a home away from home, when a child is getting treatment for a serious illness. But, that's just a front where McDonald houses his gang consisting of such ruthless hustlers as the Hamburgler, Captain Crook, and Grimace. They've been hustling McDonald's since 1955. They've had 100 million addicts since 1958.

I have a confession to make. This is tough for me to do. So, bear with me. Okay, here it goes. Hi! My name is Mike. I'm an addict. I have been slamming Big Macs all my life. I've done things I'm not proud of just so that I could have the money for my next Big Mac. I stole from my own mother. I pawned her bell bottoms for a small fry, a small fry.

I actually had my first Big Mac when I was five years old. I know you're wondering how I could have been introduced at such an early age. But, my parents were both social eaters. They only did Mickey Dee's on occasion. So, they didn't know that what they were introducing to their son could lead to a major addiction problem later in life.

Oh, I've done it all though. I started with Big Macs, but soon I was on Quarter Pounders. Sometimes, I would get a quick cheeseburger fix. Then, the whole McChicken sandwich line took me over the edge. I craved McDonald's every day.

It's like they have scientists in sandwich labs cooking up new foods to peddle on the streets. I don't know why my parents didn't sit me down a long time ago and have a conversation with me about my Mickey Dee's addiction. But, I eventually fought the disease on my own.

I went through detox at Burger King. They nursed me back to health with a regular dosage of the Whopper with Cheese. I went through the sweats. But after a few days, I was clean. Since then, I've been telling everyone about my battle with McDonald's.

It's hard to see it coming when it starts off so innocently. But, McDonald's can be peddled in all shapes and sizes. Depending on where you are or who you are talking to, it's called chicken nuggets, chocolate shake, sausage egg and cheese biscuit, McRib, double cheeseburger, Filet-o-Fish, mocha latte and even apple pie. It's so addictive that addicts will punch out McDonald's peddlers at four o'clock in the morning if they don't have any nuggets.

It's an epidemic. It's too huge for the parents to handle. It's so out of control, that we can't expect parents to keep their kids away from McDonald's. Not even just for a social occasion. We can't be trusted to handle our Mickey Dee's Jones on our own.

We have to get rid of the clown. The dealer must go down. If we don't take McDonald out, we will have fat kids growing up all over the world because the playground isn't the answer. It's only a quick fix when we need a permanent solution. It's just like taking one addiction and replacing it with another.

If we push our kids onto the playground, they just might enjoy it! We all know that our kids are easily afflicted. We won't be able to get them off of the playground long enough to talk on the phone with their friends, find free porn on the internet or even play video games. Then, what kind of world will that be?

We have to rush the McDonald House and take down the clown. It's the only way to save the world. He peddles veggie burgers in India for crying out loud! He must be stopped.

The author of A Danger to Society, Michael Allen is a contributing writer and editor for several publishing companies. His works however have developed to the big screen with two soon to be released movies Wooji and Between the Bullets. Look forward to the release of two new books this year, Ashlie Wrote and Guilty Until Proven Innocent. But for now, you can learn more about A Danger to Society, the story of an extraordinary man who becomes the victim of a case of mistaken identity.


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