Like Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder? Meet the Caspian Sea Monster, aka Russian Ekranoplan, a secret waterspeeder.

Fiction:

Fact:

Movie legend Paul Newman dies, 83

Hollywood legend Paul Newman has died of cancer at the age of 83, his spokeswoman has confirmed.

The blue-eyed star of films like Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid had died at home on Friday surrounded by family and close friends, said Jeff Sanderson. Newman was nominated for an Oscar 10 times, winning the best actor trophy in 1987 for The Color Of Money. His Butch Cassidy co-star Robert Redford led tributes, saying: “I have lost a real friend.” – BBC

150 Students Disciplined, One Arrested After Breaking School Dress Code

Parents of students in an Orange County school will have to keep an extra close eye on what colors their children wear. A new dress code policy at Odyssey Middle School sparked suspensions and even an arrest.The new dress code was approved in April 2007 after a student advisory council reviewed it. A 7th grader’s mother said her daughter was one of 150 students sent to the cafeteria Wednesday.”I was upset because it’s a constant thing with the kids, what they wear. They want them to tuck-in their shirts and we try to comply with the rules,” said parent Dolly Ortiz.Administrators handed disciplinary slips to kids who wore black, white or red.”I think it is absurd. I don’t get the rule,” said student Alexis Ortiz.The school district said the principal learned of a coordinated effort by some of the students to wear the same colors that are against the school’s dress code. Some of the students were suspended and one was arrested.Eighth-grader Alex Nunez said he didn’t know about the organized effort to protest the new policy. He was sent to detention because of his black shirt.”I missed my first period and half of my second period class just to be in there waiting to write me up,” said Nunez.Nunez’s father said that he understood why administrators were trying to protect students from possible gang activity. On the other hand, he believes students’ freedom of expression was being taken away.”I don’t want them to go back to school rebellious or worried about getting in trouble, because they’re not going to be focused on the books,” said parent Omaury Rodriguez.Teachers expect the dress code violations to continue meaning more students will be disciplined. – WFT

Grandpa Told He is Pregnant at Hospital

A patient treated for agonizing abdominal pain received this surprising news in the hospital?s paperwork: ?Based on your visit today, we know you are pregnant.? Surprising indeed for 71-year-old John Grady Pippen.

The staff at Curry General Hospital in Gold Beach gave the retired mechanic and logger the ridiculously happy news this month, along with some pain pills.

Hospital administrator William McMillan says an errant keystroke caused the hospital?s computer to spit out the wrong discharge instructions for the grandfather. – IPN

Nader is on the ballot in 45 states. Most polls say he is 3rd most popular

Quinacrine for chemical sterilization? Bad idea. What is better?

What is the most humane way to stop us from breeding?! If we don’t find a way to control ourselves, the planet will do it for us when food and water become scarce and as our pollution causes climate changes which challenge our existence.

Quinacrine (trade name: Atabrine) is a drug with a number of different medical applications being initially used in the 1930s as an antimalarial drug. It has also been used as an antibiotic in the treatment of Giardiasis (an intestinal parasite)^[1], and in research as an inhibitor of phospholipase A2. It has also been proposed for use in systemic lupus erythematosus.^{[2] …}

Controversially, quinacrine has been used as a method of non-surgical sterilisation. This method ^[3], was developed by Zipper et al who reported a first year failure rate of 3.1%.^[4] Pellets of quinacrine and an anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen are inserted through the cervix into a woman’s uterine cavity using a preloaded inserter device, similar in manner to IUCD insertion. The procedure is undertaken twice, first in the proliferative phase 6th to 14th of the menstrual cycle and again one month later. The sclerosing effects of the drugs at the utero-tubal junctions (where the Fallopian tubes enter the uterus) results in scar tissue forming over a six week interval to close off the tubes permanently.

In over 30,000 cases of quinacrine pellet sterilizations in Vietnam, 10,000 cases in India and 5000 cases in other regions not a single death has been reported;^[5] which compares to the fatality rates of surgical sterilizations of 21 per 100,000 in India,^[6] and in the US & UK of respectively 10 & 2 per 100,000.^{[7] …}

Use of quinacrine for sterilization is highly controversial. The two leading promoters of quinacrine sterilization are Dr. Elton Kessel and Stephen Mumford, who both previously worked for the Family Health International (FHI), a non-profit agency that funded quinacrine research in Chile during the 1970s. Subsequent funding from the conservative Leland Fikes Foundation and the Scaife Family Foundation made it possible for Mumford and Kessel to provide quinacrine free of charge to researchers, clinicians, and government health agencies worldwide. Mumford and Kessel’s gifts of quinacrine were made possible not only through family foundations, but also through the financial support of individuals such as Sarah G. Epstein and Donald Collins, both board members of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an organization advocating reduced immigration.

Risks of quinacrine sterilization include cancer, development of abnormal lesions in the uterus, severe pain, ectopic pregnancy and fetal exposure.^{[citation needed]} The pellets have already been banned in India and Chile (Wall Street Journal, 10/19/98).

Quinacrine has never been approved by the FDA for sterilization. Despite this fact, Kessel and Mumford have solicited abortion providers in the United States to perform quinacrine sterilization. According to Kessel, official government approval through the FDA would have been “desirable but not necessary” because the FDA permits approved drugs to be used “off-label.” The FDA, however, disagreed and in October 1998, it ordered Kessel and Mumford to destroy their existing supply of quinacrine tablets and to immediately stop all export and distribution of the drug. The FDA stated that quinacrine used for sterilizations was an “unapproved new drug and a misbranded drug in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.” and was an “unsafe use of this drug product.”, with the FDA being “very concerned about the safety risks associated with the use of this drug and its effects on women and the fetus if a woman is or becomes pregnant.” In addition to forbidding the marketing of quinacrine in the United States for sterilization purposes, the Warning Letter forbade the import of the drug into the United States or its exporting to another country. – wikipedia

The drug RU-486 is approved by the FDA to terminate pregnancy, but has side effects. There seems to be nothing completely safe and painless to prevent the human population from continuing to expand.

The Vice Presidential Debates, Biden v Palin

The Vice Presidential debates in five days, scheduled for Oct 2, 2008, will be interesting.

Biden has many more years of insider experience in foreign policy, and he is the current chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.  Will Obama be an agent of change with Biden as VP? Biden lost a past presidential bid due to his plagiarism of speech almost word-for-word, given by British Politician, Neil Kinnock.

Palin seems not as smooth as she’ll need to be to handle a position of this power. Also, she does not fully understand what a Vice President does.

Hopefully she does now understand the duties of the job. This from Wikipedia:

As President of the Senate, the Vice President has two primary duties: to cast a vote in the event of a Senate deadlock and to preside over and certify the official vote count of the U.S. Electoral College. … The informal roles and functions of the Vice President depend on the specific relationship between the President and the Vice President, but often include drafter and spokesperson for the administration’s policy, as an adviser to the president, as Chairman of the Board of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as a Member of the board of the Smithsonian Institution, and as a symbol of American concern or support. The influence of the Vice President in this role depends almost entirely on the characteristics of the particular administration. -wiki

True. If you work under G.W. Bush, for example, your job duties might include keeping public energy meeting results secret, orchestrating attacks like 9/11, the Anthrax attacks,  spying on Americans, outing CIA agents, shooting people (even his friends) in the face and promoting torture. I seriously doubt that Palin is “Cheney with lipstick” although environmentally she may be just as bad.

I’m looking on the bright side, no matter who wins, things have to get better than the last eight years (?)

My Reaction to the Presidential Debates

People pick their leaders based on who seems to be the top dog, and honestly, overall, I hate to say it, but I thought McCain came out looking a bit stronger. Not wiser. Not more honest. Not more correct. But more of a fighter. McCain showed he knows his history. He has met with foreign leaders and said he has been involved for 20 years in all major US national security decisions. He described himself as a maverick, as someone not liked for some of his decisions. He said he had selected another maverick as his VP.  On that note, Palin does not seem ready to me to be the second in command of the most powerful nation in the world, which shows McCain might make some disastrous mistakes in leading our country.

Obama was excellent at explaining different points of view. He seemed smarter, more diplomatic, and less dogmatic. He showed he supported the working class better. Obama pointed out his own Maverick side in that he opposed the war when it was unpopular and dangerous to do so. He showed he will use force when necessary, but that he would use diplomacy first. More importantly, his energy plan that will create 5 million new jobs for Americans and eliminate the need for oil from the middle east in 10 years.

We’ve had eight years of Republicans. It is time for a change.  Our chances for success as a nation and individually seem much better with him as president.

I’m looking forward to next few debates.

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Here is a link to CNN live.

Below is a recent statement from Obama.